RP-Iran game story

CONCLUSION OF JONES CUP

RP-IRAN GAME STORY

Team Standings

*Jordan 6-1

Iran 6-2

Lebanon 6-2

**Korea 5-2

**Taiwan 5-2

RP 2-6

Taiwan-B 2-6

*Kazakhstan 1-6

Japan 1-7

* - playing at press time

** - playing at press time

TAIPEI – A dwarfed Powerade-Team Pilipinas got a full measure of the height and depth of an Asian cage superpower Sunday after getting trampled by Iran, 85-60, at the close of the 31^st William Jones Cup tournament at the Hsinchuang gym.

A broken-down shot clock briefly delayed the inevitable as venue technicians worked feverishly for an hour to repair the problem.

But when it was done, so was the game.

The first meeting between the two teams since the 2007 FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship – an Olympic qualifying tournament – in Tokushima, Japan ended earlier than it last did.

While their previous encounter came down the wire before the Iranians, who went on to capture the title and qualify to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, prevailed, 75-69, the Nationals fell behind early this time, 14-7, and eventually got buried at the half, 51-23.

The second half avalanche that followed sealed a doomed climax for the RP team.

“Game was very easy, no problem,” said Iran coach Vaselin Matic.

Shrugging off a hit sustained from Ranidel de Ocampo that produced an angry bruise above his right eye, Iran’s 7-foot-3 behemoth Hamed Ehadadi, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds, parked his skyscraping frame in the paint and was the key to Iran’s complete dominance in every aspect of the mismatch.

With Serbian Rajko Toroman, who coached them in Tokushima, watching at sideline, the Iranians delivered an awesome performance that installed as a force to reckon with in the 25^th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship in Tianjin, China next month.

“We had no solution to their height advantage, we just couldn’t match up with their size,” said national coach Yeng Guiao.

The Nationals wrapped up its campaign with a 2-6 slate, good for sixth spot, three rungs lower than the third place finish of their 2007 predecessors.

In an earlier game, Japan, reduced to five players, including the veteran Takehiko Orimo, after the rest of the team succumbed to intestinal flu, fell to Taiwan-B, 97-91.

Food poisoning also claimed players from other teams, including Ehadadi who was brought to the hospital and was absent when host Taiwan stunned Iran, 80-76, Saturday.

With Iran’s second loss, Jordan, which walked out of its Thursday game with the Iranians in disgust over officiating, revived its bid for a third straight championship.

Lebanon, on the other hand, scuttled the hopes of South Korea after Matt Freije unloaded 39 points and hauled down 11 rebounds in a 97-79 rout.

The Jordanians (6-1) were to aim for the title against Kazakhstan after the RP-Iran game.

Meanwhile, the clock starts ticking for the injured Ryan Reyes and, conversely, for somebody from among the 12 that made it to the official lineup.

Guiao made it clear Saturday that it will be Reyes’ call – not Guiao’s – whether or not to reinsert him into the national team that will fly to Tianjin on Aug. 4.

Rules allow teams to alter the lineups they submitted Friday until three days before the tournament comes off the wraps on Aug. 6.

“If Ryan tells me he’s O.K. to play, then I’ll find a way for him,” said Guiao, who earlier named Reyes and Talk ‘N Text forward Ranidel de Ocampo as alternates.

Reyes, 25, who played for California State-Fullerton and was drafted third overall by the Sta. Lucia Realtors, pulled a hamstring muscle in his left thigh during the 8^th SEABA Men’s Championship in Medan last June and has been listed as day-to-day since.

“If I don’t feel I’m 90 percent healthy, then I’d rather not play because I don’t want to bring the team down,” said Reyes, who has an appointment with noted sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Raul Canlas after the RP team returns home Monday.

***

NOTES: “Tie A Yellow Ribbon,” the ‘70s pop hit by Tony Orlando and The Dawn and the unofficial anthem for former Sen. Benigno Aquino on his ill-fated arrival from Taiwan in 1983, was played during the pre-game introductions for the RP-Taiwan match Saturday…Organizers apparently found out the reason for the strips of yellow adhesives taped on the Philippine team’s uniforms and dug out the song from their music archives…Jordan’s Portuguese coach Mario Palma, whose decision to walk out of their game with Iran might have cost his team a third straight championship here, remains furious over the incident, branding it “a shame” and calling the two Taiwanese referees in that game “cowards.”...Grief befell the RP team before the Iran game when news reached the players that Wynne Arboleda's father had passed away.

Scores:

IRAN 85 – Ehadadi 19 Bahrami 18, Afagh 14, Tadjik 11, Kamrany 9, Sahakian 6, Amini 3, Davoudi 2, Davarpanah 2, Akbari 1, Doraghi 0, Davari 0.

RP 60 – Thoss 13, Baguio 12, Santos 9, Aguilar 7, Dillinger 5, De Ocampo 4, Raymundo 3, Miller 3, Taulava 2, Norwood 2.

Quarters: 25-12; 41-23; 74-43; 85-60

RP nips Taiwan-B; mass offered for ailing tita Cory

RP nips Taiwan-B; mass offered for ailing tita Cory


Team Standings
**Iran 6-1
Jordan 6-1
*Korea 5-1
*Lebanon 5-2
**Taiwan 4-2
RP 2-5
Japan 1-6
Taiwan-B 1-6
Kazakhstan 1-6

* - playing at press time
** - playing at press time

Games Sunday
11 a.m. – Taiwan B vs. Japan
1 p.m. – Iran vs. RP
3 p.m. – Taiwan vs. Korea
5 p.m. – Jordan vs. Kazakhstan
Closing Ceremony



TAIPEI – Powerade-Team Pilipinas found some reason to breath easier before it faces league-leading Iran at the close of the 31st William Jones Cup, getting past Taiwan-B, 94-90, Saturday at the Hsinchuang gym.

Willie Miller scored 22 points, Arwind Santos added 16 and Jared Dillinger 13 points as the Nationals, who had strips of yellow adhesives taped to their jerseys in honor of ailing former president Corazon C. Aquino, ended a three-game losing streak in improving to 2-5.

Taiwan’s second team absorbed its sixth loss in seven games but not after giving the RP team, which led 92-81 on Miller’s free throws with less than two minutes remaining, another endgame scare.

The Nationals were more up to the task this time despite national coach Yeng Guiao’s decision to turn the last few minutes of the game into a practicum for Dillinger, Santos and Japeth Aguilar.

“I wanted to see how they would react in the end without the benefit of a timeout or key players with them inside,” said Guiao.

Dillinger and Aguilar missed four free throws in succession, leaving Taiwan-B within 92-88, but Santos, a consistent member of the PBA’s all-defensive team, stole the ball from forward Chang Tsung and converted a breakaway layup for 94-88 with 35 seconds to go.

“Taiwan is a tough team to beat because of its quickness,” Guiao said. “They broke down our individual defense. And when we tried to play a zone, they shot well from the outside and so we had to revert to the man-to-man.”

In an earlier game, Jordan, which forfeited its Thursday’s game with Iran in protest over officiating, crushed Japan, 93-58, for its sixth win in seven outings.

Meanwhile, PBA commissioner Renauld ‘Sonny’ Barrios exhorted the national players earlier in the morning to “shape up for the mission ahead,” reminding them that only an “optimum performance” can spell success in the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Basketball Championship in Tianjin, China two weeks from now.

Speaking to team members, including national coach Yeng Guiao and manager JB Baylon, after a mass offered at the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel for the recovery of Mrs. Aquino who is gravely ill, Barrios addressed the need for the players to get in top condition and to work on their outside shooting and free throws.

“Do it for yourselves, the PBA, and – take this seriously for they are not empty words – for flag and country,” Barrios said.

Quoting excepts from “Values of the Game,” a book written by NBA legend and former 3-term United States senator Bill Bradley, Barrios spoke of the essentials required to excel in the game.

“If you can’t run, you can’t win,” Barrios said, reading from the paperback. “And the only way to improve your shooting is to shoot.”

In the book, Bradley wrote about his personal off-season shooting regimen: taking 25 shots from five different spots.

“He shoots 25 from one area and he has to make them all,” Barrios told the players. “If he misses on the 23rd, then he returns to No. 1. That’s the kind of discipline and dedication Bill Bradley put to improve his game.”

The starting forward of the ‘70s New York Knicks also recalled the time Hubie Brown, then an assistant coach with the 1972 Milwaukee Bucks, went to practice an hour and a half ahead of schedule with the intention of impressing head coach Larry Costello.

“Lo and behold! Who was there when Hubie Brown arrived? Kareem Abdul Jabbar, practicing his skyhook,” Barrios said. “And what Kareem would did, according to the book, was put a smaller rim inside the regular ring and shoot through it.”

Barrios brought to the RP players’ attention percentages gathered from the 2007 RP-Tokushima team coached by Chot Reyes, the latest season of the NBA and the PBA, and the Powerade-RP’s performance in the 8th SEABA Men’s Championship in Medan last June.

“Sad to say, guys, we’re lagging behind, fourth and last, in combined field goal percentage, especially in three-point conversion, and in free throw shooting,” he said. “So now you know what kind of work you have to cram into the last 10 days.”

The coaching staff’s decision to name Ryan Reyes and Ranidel de Ocampo as alternates was also brought up.

“We would have submitted all 14 players to the FIBA Asia but the requirement was just for 12,” Barrios said. “However, this we told the two guys and this I share to all of you now: the coach has the discretion to change anybody in the lineup three days before the tournament begins if he feels a need for it.

“So I’m urging all of you to shape up and be in the best condition that you can be within the next few days.”

Barrios paid tribute, first to Wynne Arboleda, the veteran Burger King playmaker, for “being around to help the team,” and then to the rest of the RP, acknowledging “you work so hard within very limited parameters.”

Expressing his “faith” in them, Barrios concluded by saying, “We shall sink or swim with this team, but we have to play as one.”

The mass, originally scheduled Sunday, was officiated by Fr. Joy Tajonera. M.M., a native of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro, and was arranged through the Sacred Heart of Joes & the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Chapel and UGNAYAN, a migrant and immigrant ministry based here.


Scores:

POWERADE-RP 94 – Miller 22, Santos 16, Dillinger 13, Baguio 12, Raymundo 6, Taulava 6, Norwood 6, Aguilar 6, De Ocampo 4, Thoss 2, Arboleda 2.

TAIWAN-B 90 – Chang T.H. 24, Kin 17, Chen 12, Lin 8, Chen Y.A. 8, Lu 6, Lo 5, Tsai 4, Hung 3, Wang 3, Lin C.J. 0.

Quarters: 28-22; 48-41; 69-67; 94-90

RP vs. Lebanon

Jones cup/rp vs. Lebanon story


JORDAN 4 0
LEBANON 4 1
KOREA 3 1
TAIWAN 3 1
IRAN 3 1
JAPAN 1 3
RP 1 4
TAIWAN-B 1 5
KAZAKHSTAN 0 5


Games Thursday
1 p.m. – Kazakhstan (0-5) vs. Japan (1-3)
3 p.m. – Iran (3-1) vs. Jordan (4-0)
5 p.m. – RP (1-4) vs. Korea (3-1)
7 p.m. – Taiwan (3-1) vs. Lebanon (4-1)


TAIPEI – Flexing Middle Eastern muscles on the rare occasions it needed to, Lebanon overpowered Powerade-Team Pilipinas Wednesday, 95-83, to move up solo second in the 31st William Jones Cup tournament at the Hsinchuang gym here.



Brian Feghali, who played three years for Louisiana State in the US NCAA, led Lebanon with 29 points, including five 3-pointers, and 10 rebounds, while Jackson Vroman, the replacement for naturalized player Joseph Vogel, added 24 points with seven rebounds, four assists, and five steals.

The Philippines outrebounded the Lebanese, 36-28, but turned the ball over on 27 occasions, 12 more than the opposition.

“We just beat ourselves, and too many fouls were called on us,” said national coach Yeng Guiao, noting the RP team was awarded 15 free throws and the Lebanese 32.

Halfway through the annual invitational held in honor of the founding secretary-general of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Jordan remains the only unbeaten team in the 9-team field.

Three other teams – Iran, South Korea and host Taiwan – are tied at third to fifth with 3-1 slates.

After dropping their first two games and beating Kazakhstan, the Nationals lost their next two, falling to 1-4 just above Taiwan-B (1-5) and the winless Kazakhs (0-5).

The RP team trailed 50-35 late in the second quarter on the strength of Brian Feghali’s outside shooting before James Yap closed out the first half with seven straight points.

Behind Kerby Raymundo, the Nationals came back to narrow the gap at 59-57 midway in the third quarter before the veteran Fadi El-Khatib drained a 3-point shot to spark a 15-5 Lebanon run to end the RP uprising.

Four more games remain in the country’s schedule, with South Korea, a groupmate in the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship in Tianjin, China next month, up next this Thursday.

In an earlier game, Jordan (4-0) kept an unblemished slate intact by crushing previously unbeaten South Korea, 83-67, as Rasheim Wright scored 21 points and the defense forced the usually accurate Korean snipers (3-1) to miss 20 three-point shots.

Before that, Iran (3-1), powered by 7-foot-3 Hamed Ehadadi, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds, routed Japan (1-3), 82-70, and later, Taiwan-B upset Kazakhstan, 82-69, picking up its first win while handing the Kazakhs their fifth straight setback.


Scores:

LEBANON 95 – Feghali 29, Vroman 24, El-Khatib 14, Fahed 11, Nour 9, Mahmoud 4, Turk 3, Kanaan 1.

RP 83 – Helterbrand 12, Raymundo 11, Yap 11, Pennisi 9, Santos 7, Norwood 7, Aguilar 6, Baguio 4, Thoss 3, Taulava 3.

Quarters: 30-19; 50-42; 78-66; 95-73

Japan downs RP, 87-85

KERBY Raymundo of Powerade Team Pilipinas drives along the baseline against a Japanese defender. (Photo by Tony Lu)

CYRUS Baguio of Powerade Team Pilipinas looks to pass against a Japanese defender. (Photo by Tony Lu)



Team Standings
KOREA 3 0
TAIWAN-A 3 0
JORDAN 2 0
LEBANON 2 1
IRAN 1 1
RP 1 3
JAPAN 1 2
KAZAKHSTAN 0 3
TAIWAN-B 0 3

Games Wednesday
1 p.m. – Japan (1-2) vs. Iran (1-1)
3 p.m. – Korea (3-0) vs. Jordan (2-0)
5 p.m. – Taiwan-B (0-3) vs. Kazakhstan (0-3)
7 p.m. – Lebanon (2-1) vs. RP (1-3)



TAIPEI – Powerade-Team Pilipinas squandered the gains of an earlier revival, blowing a 19-point second quarter lead Tuesday against long-time Asian rival Japan to end up losing, 87-85, in the 31st William Jones Cup at the Hsinchuang gym.

The tactical nature of the meeting between the old protagonists bracketed in Group A – along with South Korea and Sri Lanka – of the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship in Tianjin, China next month gave the outcome a different look.

With both teams determined to keep a few aces hidden before the actual battle for berths to the 16th World Championship in Istanbul next year begins, national coach Yeng Guiao and his Japanese counterpart claimed a measure of triumph after the game.

“Ang emphasis talaga is to learn as much as we can against them,” Guiao said. “We know naman in our hearts na kaya natin silang talunin pag dating sa Tianjin.”

But after watching Japan scuttle the double-digit RP team deficit with its outside shooting, and seeing Jajyjay Helterbrand’s dying-second attempt swatted away, even Guiao had to admit victory, as much as the lessons learned from the loss, would have been preferred.

“Mas maganda kung panalo siempre,” he said.

Osama Kuraishi, the Japanese coach, said through an interpreter that he had urged his players to “go hard for the victory.”

Kuraishi added: “This is a big win for us.”

The Nationals trailed, 86-82, when Jared Dillinger drained a way-out 3-point shot to cut Japan’s lead to one with four seconds left.

Helterbrand gave up a foul on Shinsuke Kashiwagi who was 7 for 7 from the line up that point. The 5-10 playmaker split his charities and Guiao called time, designing a play with Helterbrand inbounding from mid-court.

The Japanese broke up the first throw-in and the RP team again called time. Helterbrand returned for the throw-in, bounced the ball off Kashiwagi’s back, picked it up, and took aim from just outside the 3-point arc, only to have the ball swatted away by Kashiwagi before it could be launched.

“We were going for a win, a three-point shot,” said Guiao. “Na-fumble lang.”

Kashiwagi had 12 points behind center Kosuk Takeuchi who had 24 points, and the Japanese used their outside shooting and aggressive defense to come back from a 36-14 deficit early in the second and wrest control.

Japeth Aguilar, in his finest performance so far, scored 17 points for Team RP while Willie Miller added 14.

The Nationals, who ended a two-game losing start by beating Kazakhstan Monday, were hurt by their turnovers (24 against Japan’s 15) and their inability to get as often to the free throw line (8 of 9) where Japan shot 24 of 33.

With a 1-3 record, Powerade-RP, who lost James Yap late in the game after the Purefoods hotshot was hit on the nape during a scramble, goes up against Lebanon and Fadih El-Khatib at 7 p.m. Wednesday even as unbeaten teams South Korea and Jordan clash at 3 p.m.

In an earlier game, Lebanon nipped Kazakstan, 77-73, in a game where both teams walked out in the first half in disgust over officiating before they were persuaded to return and finish the game.

***
NOTES: Portuguese Mario Palma, the Jordan coach, points to China, Iran and Lebanon as the teams to beat in the FIBA-Asia World Championship qualifier in Tianjin…Lebanon mentor Dragan Raca confirms Lebanon is proceeding straight to the Philippines after ng the Jones Cup for two tuneup games against a non-PBA team.

Scores:

JAPAN 87 – Takeuchi 24, Kashiwagi 12, Takeda 9, Ishizaki 9, Amino 7, Orimo 7, Sakurai 7, Igarashi 5, Ito 4, Okada 3.

RP 85 – Aguilar 17, Miller 14, Santos 10, Thoss 8, Dillinger 8, Raymundo 5, Yap 5, De Ocampo 5, Norwood 5, Baguio 4, Helterbrand 2, Taulava 2.

Quarters: 12-27; 36-40; 61-61; 87-85

RP wins

RP VS. KAZAKHSTAN GAME STORY


Team Standings
KOREA 2 0
JORDAN 2 0
TAIWAN-A 2 0
IRAN 1 0
LEBANON 2 1
RP 1 2
JAPAN 0 2
KAZAKHSTAN 0 3
TAIWAN-B 0 2

Games Tuesday
1 p.m. – Kazakhstan vs. Lebanon
3 p.m. – Japan vs. RP
5 p.m. – Taiwan-B vs. Iran
7 p.m. – Jordan vs. Taiwan-A


TAIPEI – Stripped bare by Jordan and pushed to the brink by Taiwan in its first two outings, Powerade-Team Pilipinas rebounded with vengeful resolve Monday, blasting Kazakhstan, 85-67, in the 31st William Jones Cup tournament at the Hsinchuang gym.

The victory restored a measure of respect for the Nationals who suffered one of their worst beatings at the hands of the defending champion Jordanians – a 31-point loss Saturday – and a heartbreaker to host Taiwan Sunday.

Willie Miller, stepping up at the point guard spot while Jayjay Helterbrand feels his way back from a hamstring pull, led the RP team with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Ranidel de Ocampo, 5 of 6 from the floor, added 11 points, along with 6-foot-10 Japeth Aguilar, who punctuated the breakout win with a number of rim-bending dunks.

“We’re just happy to win,” said national coach Yeng Guiao. “The important thing is we’re improving everyday, and we hope to get better in the next few games.”

The Philippines takes on long-time Asian rival Japan at 3 p.m. Tuesday in a battle of teams bracketed in Group A of the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship in Tianjin, China next month.

“Am I happy? Not totally because we lost our first two games in a bad way,” Guiao said. “But the prospects are good. Ang importante, me laban tayo sa Japan at Korea. We’ll focus on that first.”

After Lebanon on Wednesday, the Nationals face South Korea, which barely scraped past Kazakhstan, 75-73, in the opener.

Helterbrand returned after sitting out the first two games, putting aside tenseness in his left thigh in contributing seven points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal in 17 minutes.

“It feels good to be back trying to help my RP teammates,” said Helterbrand, his thigh wrapped in an icepack.

Oleg Kiselev, one of the Kazakhstan coaches, complimented the RP team’s aggressive running game and second half zone defense.

“They showed fantastic basketball. We couldn’t handle their fast break game,” Kiselev said through an interpreter. “We also struggled against their zone and we couldn’t fight till the end of the game.”

The Kazakhs are bringing with them to the Tianjin tournament three additional players – two big men and a point guard – and could face the Philippines again if both of them reach the quarterfinal round.

No Philippine team has beaten Kazakhstan dating back to the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games where it lost to Tim Cone’s RP-Centennial squad.

The Kazakhs beat out the Nationals for third place in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, a game the RP team went through will little emotion after losing to South Korea in the semifinal on a buzzer-beating 3-point shot by Lee Sang-Min.

A far cry from the nature of their first two starts, the Nationals came out blazing, opening a 22-12 lead in the first quarter on the way to several 20-point spreads, the last on a De Ocampo fast break layup, 78-58, with four minutes left.

In an earlier game, defending champion Jordan double-teamed the prolific Fadih El-Khatib throughout in a 73-63 victory over Lebanon for its second straight win.

After scoring an average 32.5 points in their first two wins, the veteran Lebanese forward was held down to 14 points on 5 of 14 shooting.


Scores:
POWERADE-RP 85 – Miller 13, Aguilar 11, De Ocampo 11, Yap 9, Thoss 8, Norwood 7, Helterbrand 7, Baguio 6, Raymundo 6, Santos 5, Dillinger 2, Taulava 0.

KAZAKHSTAN 67 – Dmitriy 23, Alexandr 16, Rustam 12, Vselovod 12, Ivan 2, Roman 2, Ilya 0, Voyeikov 0.

Quarters: 22-12, 45-36, 67-53, 85-67

Jordan routs RP

Jordan routs RP


Games Today
1 p.m. – Kazakhstan vs. Iran
3 p.m. – Japan vs. Lebanon
5 p.m. – Taiwan-B vs. Korea
7 p.m. – RP vs. Taiwan-A


TAIPEI – The awakening to the truth about international competition couldn’t have been more rude, and the welcome to the 31st staging of the William Jones Cup any more cold for Powerade-Team Pilipinas.

Hoping to showcase to the rest of Asia what they are all about as they set a goal lofty enough to deserve an appearance in the 16th World Championship in Istanbul next year, the Nationals ran smack instead to the harsh realities of global basketball.

Reduced to a bush leaguer in the second quarter where big and bold Jordan racked up 20 straight points to break a tight game open, the RP team fell with a big thud Saturday, 90-59, at the Hsinchuang gymnasium, putting pressure on everybody involved in sending a national team to the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship in Tianjin, China next month.

The game was shown live on ESPN, and the Nationals, who started James Yap, Asi Taulava, Gabe Norwood, Kerby Raymundo and Willie Miller, stayed in the game in the first 10 minutes, trailing 17-15, with the promise of a second quarter blast up in the air.

But then came off the bench Rasheim Wright, the 6-4 point guard who terrorized Chot Reyes’ RP team during the 24th FIBA Asia Olympic qualifier in Tokushima, Japan two years ago.

In a flash, the potential for a big first half went up in smoke as the Jordanians, orchestrated by Wright, cut the Nationals’ defense in shreds, setting bone-jarring screens against the man-to-man and hitting the open man from the outside.

With alarming regularity, the Nationals were caught two or three steps away from a Jordanian in firing position or pinned hapless under the basket by huge post-up presence.

It was 37-15 with three minutes remaining in the half before Jared Dillinger went to the free throw to end the long drought, and it was more of the same the rest of the way.

Fast on their feet in covering the middle defensively, the Jordanians, coached by Brazilian sparkplug Mario Palma, who made RP coach Yeng Guiao look like an altar boy, had the Nationals starving from the perimeter and under the offensive glass.

They also had easy access in front of their goal, drawing the double-team and then locating their spot-up shooters.

There were a few bright notes for Team RP, like Kerby Raymundo scoring the Nationals’ first six points and newcomer Japeth Aguilar swatting away shots.

But it was a Jordanian show all the way, with the debacle at its height halfway in the fourth quarter at 79-45.

Ginebra’s Jayjay Helterbrand and Cyrus Baguio, and San Miguel Beer’s Mick Pennisi, with little rest following their Game 7 battle in the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup Finals, arrived Saturday afternoon with Powerade-RP team manager JB Baylon and PBA media bureau chief Willy Marcial but didn’t suit up.

They are expected to be inserted in the 12-man lineup, which is allowed by tournament rules, for Sunday’s 7 p.m. match against host Taiwan.

In other opening day games, Lebanon, with the veteran Fadih El-Khatib pouring 32 points, crushed Taiwan-B, 93-61, while South Korea, which is bracketed with the Philippines, Japan and Sri Lanka in Group A in the FIBA Asia tournament, edged Kazakhstan, 75-73, despite getting outrebounded, 42-32.

RP vs. Jordan

JULY 17, 2009



Games Today

1 p.m. – Lebanon vs. Taiwan-B

3 p.m. – Korea vs. Kazakhstan

5 p.m. – Jordan vs. PHILIPPINES

7 p.m. – Opening Ceremony

7:30 p.m. – Taiwan-A vs. Japan





Powerade-RP battles Jordan



Helterbrand: It doesn’t matter if it hurts, I’ll still play


TAIPEI – Powerade-Team Pilipinas opens its campaign in the 31st William Jones Cup tournament Saturday against Jordan, the squad that smashed two years ago the country’s dreams of returning to the Olympic stage.


Game time is set at 5 p.m. at the Hsinchuang gymnasium following the opening matches pitting Lebanon against Taiwan-B at 1 p.m. and South Korea against Kazakhstan at 3.


A 30-minute inaugural ceremony is set at 7 p.m.


Led by point guard Rasheim Wright, who had 24 points, the Jordanian ended the Philippines’ bid to qualify to the 2008 Beijing Olympics following an 84-76 victory in the preliminary round of the 24th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship in Tokushima, Japan.


Though the Jones Cup, held in honor of the founding secretary-general of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), is nothing more than a top-caliber tune-up tournament for the “real thing” – the FIBA Asia World Championship qualifier in Tianjin, China next month – the games will afford competing teams a chance to size up each other.


Facing Jordan in the opener is especially significant for the Nationals.


“We lost to them convincingly in Tokushima,” said Powerade-RP coach Yeng Guiao on arrival here Thursday. “Meeting Jordan at once will allow us to immediately find out if our preparations (for Tianjin) are on the right track.”


PBA commissioner Renauld ‘Sonny’ Barrios, head of the RP delegation, labeled the Jordan game “the real test against a strong opponent.”


Added Barrios: “This will give coach Yeng and our guys an opportunity to gauge how they are doing in their preparations for Tianjin.”


Backing Wright then are 6-foot-8 Islam Abbaas, who grabbed nine rebounds against the Philippines, and 6-foot-6 Enver Soobzokov and 6-foot-5 Sam Daghlas, both of whom had five assists.


Jordan had two 7-footers – Jamal Ma’aytah and Ayman Udais – and a 6-foot-10 center, Zaid Al-Khas.


Asi Taulava paced Team RP, which led 18-13 in the first quarter, with 14 points, while point guard Jayjay Helterbrand had five assists.


Helterbrand, who has been laboring under the strain of a pulled hamstring, gave indications he would suit up.


“If I’m there, I don’t wanna just watch,” said Helterbrand, who sat from the bench as his RP teammates swept the 8th SEABA Men’s Championship in Medan, Indonesia last April.


“I wanna really try help those guys out. If I’m capable, I wanna play. If it hurts or not, it doesn’t matter, I’ll still play.”


The RP team arrived Thursday afternoon from Manila minus Mick Pennisi of San Miguel Beer and Ginebra's Cyrus Baguio and Helterbrand, who will follow the day after Game 7 of the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup Finals Friday.