Philippines - RP sweeps jr SEABA meet
The Nokia-Philippine Youth team came through with yet another sterling performance and dumped Singapore, 96-55, Monday to formalize its claim of the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Championship for Junior Men crown at the Malaysian Amateur Basketball Association gym here.
From www.mb.com.ph
Download source here
The Nokia-Philippine Youth team came through with yet another sterling performance and dumped Singapore, 96-55, Monday to formalize its claim of the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Championship for Junior Men crown at the Malaysian Amateur Basketball Association gym here.
The Filipinos were already assured of the title after streaking to their third win via a 123-43 thrashing of Indonesia on Sunday, but it did not stop them from finishing the tournament with a flourish as they manhandled the Singaporeans to sweep the five-nation, single-round tournament.
Defending champion and host Malaysia, which closed out the five-day affair with a 120-48 win over the Indons in the second game, finished second with a 3-1 win-loss record followed by Thailand (2-2) and Singapore (1-3).
Indonesia failed to win a single game.
For ruling the event, the country’s first since winning the crown in Lucena City four years ago, the Filipinos earned a ticket to compete in the FIBA Asia Youth Championships set on Aug. 28 to Sept. 5 in Tehran, Iran.
Malaysia also joined the RP Youth in the Asian tournament with its runner-up feat.
Four Filipinos scored in double figures with Ryan Garcia scoring a team-high 16 points. He also had three steals.
College of St. Benilde’s Joel De Guzman, who was later named the best defender in the competition, scattered 13 of his 14 points in the first quarter to break the game wide open. He highlighted his performance with three assists and three steals.
Despite their blowout wins in the tournament, coach Franz Pumaren said they achieved only little.
"I think we have just achieved a small step trying to regain the glory days in RP basketball while having that chance to also earn some respect in the Asian region once again," RP Youth team coach Franz Pumaren, who was later named the tournament’s best coach, said.
"Trying to make these kids blend together – coming from different schools and coaches with different philosophies — is a tough task. But the boys showed they can get together to fulfill our goal of getting this crown," Pumaren, who is assisted by his brother, Dindo, Sandy Arespacochaga, Jack Santiago and conditioning coach Dan Rose, added.