Philippines - Sweep by RP

From www.tempo.com.ph
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A mission accomplished for San Miguel-Pilipinas found a thrilling counterpart Monday as Thailand fulfilled a dream come true at the close of the 7th Southeast Asian Basketball Association Men’s Championship.

Pre-ordained to sweep the qualifier to the FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship in Tokushima, Japan this July, the Nationals climaxed their dominance of the regional competition by beating the host Thais, 96-76 at the New Ratchaburi gym, the venue festively adorned in red-and-gold and light blue-and-white silks in honor of the Crown Prince to whom the tournament was named after.

Though anticlimactic in nature with the Philippines (4-0) and Indonesia (3-1) having clinched the top two berths to Tokushima, site of the Olympic qualifier, the final game turned into a memorable one, both for the all-PBA squad and the proud Thais.

For once, SMC-RP trailed at the end of the first quarter, 23-24, and didn’t taste the lead until after two minutes into the second on Mark Caguiao’s driving layup, 28-27 – a testament to the tenacity put up by Thailand.

A three-point shot by Renren Ritualo gave the Nationals their first double-digit advantage at 37-27, with 5:35 left in the half, an unheard of occurrence since SMC-RP had gotten used to having the game blown open at this stage in their previous three games.

RP coach Chot Reyes raged at his players – another rare moment – at the end of the first quarter, and although the Nationals responded by streaking to several 25-point spreads in the third, the last at 75-50 on a Kerby Raymundo basket, the Thais, with an 11-0 run, rallied to within 11 points, 77-66, in the fourth period with aggressive defense and impeccable shooting.

Not on few occasions did Asi Taulava (13 rebounds) and Danny Seigle (11 rebounds, 10 of 10 free throws) get tangled up with Thai defenders under the basket, resulting in tense moments diffused in time.

It was also the first time an opposing crowd outnumbered the Filipino followers who had faithfully cheered for the Nationals from Day One, turning the venue into haven for boisterous partisan applause and jeering.

In front of their home crowd,

the feisty Thais came up with their best game in the tournament, a performance that would have merited a slot in the Olympic qualifier had they produced it in their game with Indonesia Saturday which they lost 65-55.

But the Nationals were not to be denied, concluding the SEABA tournament with a 38.5 winning margin in four games. Reyes found little reason to celebrate.

"We didn’t even have the game to beat Chinese-Taipei. Now we have two months to get to that level," said Reyes, who brought up the names of Willie Miller of Alaska, Kelly Williams of Sta. Lucia and Gabe Norwood, a Fil-Am from George Mason University as possible additions to the national team.

"Essentially, we’re basically cramming," he added, providing portents of big changes to come in the team within the next few days.

SMC-RP returns home for a final evaluation among Reyes, PBA commissioner Noli Eala, league chairman Ricky Vargas and team manager Robert Non before plunging back to training for the all-import Tokushima tourney where the Asian qualifier to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 will be chosen.