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THE
Philippine youth team failed to get a win in the current
Philippine Basketball League (PBL) Lipovitan Amino
Sports Cup but the experience the young Nationals got
definitely pushed their play to another level.
The
coaching staff and the players were unison in this
assessment, saying that their participation in the PBL
prepared them hard for the Southeast Asia Basketball
Association (Seaba) Championship for Junior Men, set to
start this Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“It was
really helpful. The exposure we got in the PBL prepared
our players, mentally and physically, to the Seaba
tournament,” said assistant head coach Sandy
Arespacochaga.
“And you
can see the development in this team. In our last two
games, we were there in those games only to lose in the
end,” Arespacochaga added.
In their
first six games, the RP Youth’s average losing margin
was nearly 20 points, but the young Nationals gave Noosa
Shoes a stiff challenge before surrendering a 73-67
defeat on April 19.
Against
San Mig Coffee, the team’s last assignment before
leaving for Malaysia, the wards of coach Franz Pumaren
were still in the thick of things up to the last four
minutes of the game before the veterans of the Coffee
Kings pulled away.
Team
captain Frank Golla, an 18-year-old six-foot-six center
out of Ateneo, echoed Arespacochaga’s statement, adding
that the PBL experience boosted the team’s confidence
going into the Seaba joust.
“They
are bigger and more experienced than us. And the game in
the PBL was really physical, so I think that prepared
the team mentally and physically,” said Golla.
Even Fil-Am
recruit Kyle Pascual, also a six-foot-six player from
California, confessed that the experience in the PBL
pushed them to the limit.
“I
played only one game here but the game was really fast
and quite physical,” the 18-year-old Pascual said.
The
Philippine youth team left on Monday for the five-nation
tournament. The team meets host
Malaysia
on opening day on May 1, then Thailand on May 2.
They
take a break on May 3 before facing Indonesia the
following day and Singapore on May 5. The top two teams
in the tournament advance in the Fiba-Asia 18-under in
Iran this September.
Batang
Pier back in form
Meanwhile, Harbour Centre unloaded a torrid 20-0 run
midway in the fourth quarter to score a come-from-behind
81-64 win over Bacchus Energy Drink to bounce back from
a stinging loss—its only one in the tournament so
far—previously.
“The boys were complacent because we already got the top
seed in the semis and the game has no bearing for us,”
said Harbour head coach Jorge Gallent, who drew a
career-high 21 points from Dylan Ababou.
“But I’m
happy they were able to recover in the second half,”
Gallent added.
Batang
Pier, which came from a 99-97 loss to Pharex in their
last game, meet Hapee Toothpaste tomorrow at the Gov.
Ayong Maliksi Gym in Trece Martirez, Cavite City, to end
the prelims.
The game
is being tagged as a preview of the finals.
It was a
sorry loss for Bacchus, which typified the team’s
campaign in the conference, getting the headway early in
some of their games before losing steam in the end.
The
Raiders had control of the game most of the way and were
still up, 60-57, with less than seven minutes of the
game before Harbour, behind Solomon Mercado and Jayson
Castro, sparked the uprising to steal the game.
Ramsey
Williams and Nat Cruz each had 11 points for Bacchus,
which ended its campaign with a disappointing 5-10
slate.
In the
other game, San Mig Coffee defeated Toyota Otis, 86-69,
and stayed in the hunt for a twice-to-beat incentive.
The
Coffee Kings, who finished the elims with a 7-8 record,
are hoping Pharex (7-7) loses to Burger King (8-6)
tomorrow to secure the bonus.
Bon-Bon
Custodio led San Mig with 18 points, while RJ Jazul
topped Toyota with 17. |
