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JAKARTA—As
far as the lineup matchup is concerned, the Harbour
Centre-RP Team’s chances against Thailand look to be in
the Filipinos’ favor.
And
that’s what the RP head coach doesn’t like.
The
Nationals open their title defense of the Southeast
Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) Club Championships
Friday when they take on a Thai team without foreign
reinforcement at the Britama Stadium.
The
format automatically gives the team with the best record
at the end of the single-round tournament the
championship. That means all four participating
countries are thinking of only one thing: win every game
and sweep the competition to avoid any more
complications.
Thus,
the Nationals, who were staggered with hassles on the
trip here, finally caught themselves a break knowing
they’ll face importless Thailand at 4 p.m. local time.
But
Jorge Gallent isn’t exactly giddy about the initial
assignment.
“You
cannot be complacent in this type of situation,” the RP
head coach said. “What I want my team to think is we’re
still playing a team that has imports.”
While
there’s an apparent gap in talent in favor of the
Philippines, Thailand will be highly motivated against
its perennial Southeast Asian sports rival.
Not only
do the Thais take a semblance of a grudge from other
sports (like boxing and tennis), they were also beaten
black and blue by the Filipinos in the title game of the
Southeast Asian Games basketball last December.
So
Gallent doesn’t want to belittle a talent-challenged but
revved-up Thai team. “We’ll play hard against them,” he
said.
Beating
Thailand is a must. Last year the Philippines opened the
Seaba Clubs with a loss to host
Indonesia.
The Nationals, who were also backed by Harbour Centre,
got back on their feet, swept the tournament, then
demolished
Indonesia
in the one-game finale. Without the benefit of a title
match, the Philippines cannot afford to drop a game.
‘Tiny
Twins’ combination
AGAINST
the Thais, Gallent said he is going to resort to
something Harbour Centre has been used to playing: small
ball.
“We’re
going to put a lot of emphasis on guard play. We’ll try
to pressure [Thailand’s] point guards, try to force some
errors and get to the open court,” Gallent said.
At the
center of that strategy is the “Tiny Twin” combination
of Jason Castro and TY Tang.
Castro
and Tang have been responsible for the recent success of
Harbour Centre in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL).
In the
current Lipovitan Amino Energy Drink Cup, Harbour is
unbeaten in eight games, thanks in large part to the
heads-up play of the two.
Their
highly touted skills will be put to test for a much
bigger cause this weekend, however.
“Of
course, there’s pressure because we are the defending
champions. We must show everyone that we can play like
one,” said Castro, who is no stranger to winning, having
been part of titles with Philippine Christian U in
college, Harbour Centre in the PBL and the Southeast
Asian Games as a national player.
Castro
is also a holdover from the Harbour Centre-RP Team that
won the Seaba Clubs last year. Repeating as champion is
in Castro’s head no doubt, as this may be his last
national stint before going to the pro ranks in the
coming Philippine Basketball Association season.
Castro
said there’s only one way to beat Thailand, and he
agrees with Gallent.
“We’re
going to run down [Thailand],”
Castro said. “We’ll grab every miss and play on the
breaks until we tire them. That’s what’s Harbour’s been
about, playing small but playing fast.”
Ekwe in
international debut
BUT the
question is: Can Harbour Centre run at 100mph every game
for three straight games?
On
Saturday the Nationals take on Malaysia, and then
Indonesia next on Sunday. The two teams are expected to
pound the rock down the blocks and maximize their
imports’ height advantage.
Junel
Baculi hopes the Filipinos’ reinforcement—collegiate
standout Ekwe and late-addition Mark LeBlanc—will be up
to the task not only against Thailand but throughout the
tournament.
“Sam
will anchor our defense in the middle. I’ve seen Mark
and he can play, he can score. All they have to do is
adjust to the team’s system, and I think we’ll be fine,”
said Baculi, the team’s coaching consultant and last
year’s head coach in the fruitful Seaba campaign.
“I feel
honored to be a part of this team,” said Ekwe, who is
being eyed for naturalization by the RP basketball
federation. “There’s no doubt that the pressure is
there, but this is also a chance for us to do something
special and I’m not going to let it go to waste.”
With the
inclusion of Ekwe and LeBlanc, the two players cut from
the team were Solomon Mercado, who injured his groin in
practice, and Boyet Bautista.
Joining
the two imports, Castro and Tang are Dylan Ababou, Chad
Alonzo, Beau Belga, Jeff Chan, Jonathan Fernandez,
Jerwin Gaco, Gilbert Malabanan and Al Vergara.
Castro,
Alonzo, Belga, Fernandez and Vergara are the holdovers
from the 2007 Seaba Club champion team.
Thailand
is fielding six holdovers from the SEA Games
silver-medal squad.
Meanwhile, Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero and PBL
commissioner Chino Trinidad also wished the Nationals
success. Harbour-backed RP teams are 2-0 in
international play, counting the Seaba Clubs in March
2007 and the SEA Games in December.
The 2007
Seaba Clubs title was the Philippines’ first
international championship since the Fiba lifted the
country’s suspension that lasted 18 months. |
