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TOKUSHIMA,
Japan—The
only thing the Philippines needed to prove Sunday was
that it deserved to break into the highest level of
Asian basketball. And it did so by shattering one of the
most lingering myths in the country’s storied basketball
history.
Twenty-four hours removed from a lackadaisical debut,
San Miguel-Team Pilipinas shed off the sheep’s clothing
and played ferociously at both ends of the floor to beat
China—yes, those Chinese—79-74, in the Fiba Asia
qualifiers at the ASTY Gym here.
After
falling to
Iran
Saturday, the Philippines needed to do something no
Filipino team has done in the last 22 years—beat a
Chinese squad.
But the
Filipinos’ offense—both in execution and shot-making—ran
on all cylinders and defended excellently using
full-court traps that stymied the Mainlanders. And, for
the first time, a pro-laden RP team beat the
acknowledged powerhouse in Asian hoops.
“We
played 40 minutes of pure heart,” RP coach Chot Reyes
said. “I challenged the team to play the way we played
the last six minutes of our game last night [against
Iran]. I said ‘if we can do that, then we can pull off a
win.’”
It was
much easier said than done, however. It took the
Philippines three quarters and a minute to take the lead
after Jay-Jay Helterbrand hit a pull-up jumper that
pushed RP ahead, 58-57,
8:57 to go in the game.
Kerby
Raymundo strung four straight points to give the
Filipinos their biggest lead, 68-62,
5:24 to go.
The
Nationals were smelling victory before the Chinese blew
away the sweet scent. Guard Qiang Bian canned a
three-pointer and the Chinese were within 68-67 three
minutes later.
Jimmy
Alapag hit a buzzer-beating triple and Mark Caguioa
scored four straight to pad the lead back, 75-69.
With
18.1 seconds left, Chinese forward Yong Wang hit a
corner three-pointer that put his team within 75-74 and
RP on the edge of their seats. But Caguioa scored on an
open baseline drive in the next play and Kelly
Williams’s steal thwarted China’s final play.
The game
actually had shades of the Iran game, where the
Philippines fell early. Five straight three-pointers by
China
put them ahead, 41-27, much to the horror of the handful
of RP supporters on hand to watch the game.
But it
took the effort of every individual RP player out on the
hard court to pull off the first Philippine victory over
China since a Ron Jacobs team accomplished the feat in
the Asian Basketball Conference in 1985 and the very
first by a team of professionals.
“We
never gave up hope,” Reyes said. “We’re the smallest
team in our group. Our opponents are taller, they’re
heavier, but our fighting heart will be second to none.”
That
heart will be tested severely again Monday night when
the Philippines faces Jordan, the Nationals’ last group
game and the equation is simple: if the Filipinos win,
they advance into the winners’ bracket in the
quarterfinals.
Jordan,
which has a 1-0 record, was still playing
Iran,
another undefeated team, at press time.
“It’s
the quest for respect,” Reyes added. “Our basketball
leadership…there have been a lot of problems, all these
years [we’ve] begged for a chance to show that we can
play basketball. The chance has been given us [and now],
it’s about finding a way to win.”
Alapag
finished with 25 points to lead all scorers. Caguioa,
who made only one field goal and seven turnovers in the
Iran game, had 16 points and just one error in 27
minutes. Raymundo, appearing to be the most effective
post threat for the
Philippines,
chipped in 12 points, while Williams, who was active on
both ends, had 11.
The
Philippines started sluggishly and allowed China to race
to a 7-0 lead. Chinese forward Li Yi’s three-pointer
extended the advantage to 18-5, 3:59 left in the first
quarter.
The
Nationals crept back in contention, outscoring the
Chinese, 14-7, the rest of the way to cut the score down
to 25-19 after the first period.
The
Philippines continued to apply pressure defense at the
start of the second quarter and it paid off handsomely,
forcing the Chinese into turnovers. Caguioa’s
three-pointer put the Nationals closer, 30-27, at
6:04 to go before halftime.
But
China found its range as four different Chinese buried
one three-pointer after another in successive plays.
After guard Shuo Han’s triple at the 3:40 mark, China
extended its lead to 41-27.
Alapag
returned to the floor and scored the Philippines ’ last
eight points, including a buzzer-beating heave that
pegged the score at 49-38.
China
is winless in two games but is still not out of
contention, depending on the Jordan-Iran game that was
still being played late last night.
Japan’s
home-court advantage worked wonders in the end game as
the local team came back from eight points down after
three quarters to beat Lebanon, 77-67.
In Group
C, Qatar and Kazakhstan easily disposed of their foes to
advance into the quarterfinals. The two countries stake
their unbeaten records when they face each other Monday.
In Group
D, Korea remained perfect after two games and marched on
to the next phase. The Koreans beat the Taiwanese,
85-70, and forced
Taiwan into a rubber match with
Hong
Kong for the second quarterfinals slot in their group. |
