Powerade-RP sweeps SEABA

Powerade-RP sweeps SEABA
MEDAN – Having conquered the 8th Southeast Asian Basketball Association Men’s Championship, Powerade-Team Pilipinas now confronts two contrasting realities and national coach Yeng Guiao faces one of the most difficult choices in his life.

The Queen’s Freddie Mercury took over from where Nat King Cole left off Tuesday night, belting out the anthemic “We Are The Champions” as Powerade-Team Pilipinas ditched a languid first quarter waltz to rock host Indonesia, 98-68, in the SEABA final at the Angkasapura Lanud Basketball Hall.

“It’s time for the real test and the real thing,” announced Guaio after the game. The win made official the entry of the Philippines and Indonesia as Southeast Asia’s representatives to the FIBA-Asia World Championship qualifier in Tianjin, China in August, and set up the Nationals for what coach Yeng Guiao calls the “real test” and the “real thing.”

Fashioned before a raucous hometown crowd that savored every minute of a riveting first quarter, the victory continued for another SEABA staging the country’s basketball dominance in the region.

The Nationals were held to a 22-all tie in the opening quarter but came out rumbling in the second half – after spending a few minutes with their mercurial mentor in the dugout – applying heavy backcourt pressure in stretching a 46-32 lead at the intermission to 91-54 on a three-point shot by Mick Pennisi with 4:20 left.

“We had our share of nervous moments not just in the championship game but the whole tournament,” said Guiao. “It really was a major experience, not just for the team but for me personally.”

Overwhelmed 103-64 in their elimination round meeting Sunday, Indonesia achieved a measure of respect by standing toe-to-toe with their pro rivals for the first 15 minutes of the final game. They hung on tenaciously, 31-30, with quickness and aggressiveness, five three-point shots and Team RP’s own atrocious outside shooting (4 of 19 from beyond the arc) before unraveling.

The hosts eventually surrendered to the inevitable as Powerade-RP turned serious, going on a 33-11 tear that bridged the third and fourth quarters and posting a 37-point spread. “We couldn’t match their speed in the second half, and we couldn’t handle their pressure on the ball,” said Indonesian coach Raoul Miguel Hidanoto.

Cyrus Baguio and James Yap each had 14 points while Asi Taulava added 11 with 10 rebounds. Jared Dillinger added nine rebounds as Team RP dominated the boards, 65-43. The Nationals didn’t have their way with the Indons early as they did before, but they came together at the appropriate moment before a bad start could turn worse.

Treated to classic hits from one of the ‘50s greatest crooners in their game with Singapore Monday, the Nationals put on their dancing shoes this time and took to the victory stands to the hard-pounding universal sports anthem by the late vocalist of the rock group Queen.

Guiao, who would soon need to cut a 15-man lineup to 12, left much of the celebration during the award ceremony to his players, sitting on one side of the court away from the bedlam going over the game stats with assistant coach Gee Abanilla. “Offensively, our three-point shooting is way below our expectations,” he said.

“We have good shooters in this team but for one reason or another, we’ve not been shooting that well, even during the All-Stars series.” Team RP shot 23.9 percent from rainbow territory in its first three games to the opposition’s combined 31.8 percent.

Their substandard sniping, Guiao said, is something the coaching staff will be working on when practice resumes on June 16, a day before Powerade-RP team manager and Coca-Cola governor JB Baylon flies to Tianjin to attend the draw for groupings to the 25th FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship set Aug. 6-18.

“I’m sure we’ll be encountering a lot of zone defenses in China,” Guiao said. With the “first big step” toward the World Championship qualifier over and done with, the Nationals proceed to embark on the next – the Jones Cup next month in Taipei.

“The Jones Cup is the real test; the FIBA Asia is the real thing,” Guiao said during dinner hosted hosted by Baylon at the Marriott Hotel. “This tournament (SEABA) is just a confidence builder, a way to see the character of these guys. Now we move on to tougher things.”

Scores:

POWERADE-TP 98 – Baguio 14, Yap 14, Taulava 11, Miller 10, Santos 10, Dillinger 8, Raymundo 8, De Ocampo 8, Norwood 8, Pennisi 7.

INDONESIA 68 – Sudiadnyana 14, Wuysang 11, Purwanto 11, Sigar 7, Thoyib 6, Poedjakusuma 5, Agustinus 5, Suro 4, Budianto 3, Fitzgerald 2, Wibawa 0, Sumargo 0. Quarters: 22-22, 46-32, 77-49, 98-68.