RP cagers bow to Jordan, bid Olympic dream adieu

By Francis Ochoa
Inquirer

TOKUSHIMA, JAPAN–As it were, all the Philippines really had at most to cross the wide expanse between here and Beijing was a bridge made of straw.

And on Monday, even that was burned down, torched by a Jordan team that played its best basketball at the right time — depending on which side of the coliseum you were watching — on the way to an 84-76 victory over San Miguel-RP in the FIBA-Asia men’s championship at the Asty Tokushima.

Jordan shredded the Philippines’ Olympic hopes in twos, with resident stars Rasheim Wright and Zaid Alkhas doing the tango in the third period and Islam Abbaas and Sam Daghles completing the demolition job in the fourth to book for their team a quarterfinal slot in this Olympic-qualifying event.

“I think we played the best basketball in this championships,” said Jordan coach Mario Palma, who continued to harp on the fact that his team had to play through the so-called Group of Death and now has to open its quarterfinal bid right the very next day against South Korea.

For San Miguel-RP, a team culled from the biggest names in the Philippine Basketball Association, the end to the dream of a cameo appearance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics came down hard on it, more so because of the fact that it produced its best start thus far in the tournament.

“We lost [in the second half],” said coach Chot Reyes. “We couldn’t make a basket and they (the Jordanians) made theirs.”

And the Jordanians made theirs in pairs.

Alkhas and Wright had eight points each in the third period as the two scored all but two of their team’s total output there to allow Jordan to grab a 54-51 lead going into the fourth.

Abbaas, who wasn’t even supposed to play because of an ankle injury — and who at one point needed to be replaced to have the injury checked — then scored six straight points in the fourth and combined with Daghes in a 15-4 exchange that ripped the game wide open, 69-55, with 3:16 to play.

“The last four months, people have been talking about the Philippines and how they prepared hard for four months,” Palma, a Brazilian, said. “But when they arrived here, I don’t think they were in shape. In the second half, they looked tired.”

Surprisingly, San Miguel-RP didn’t go with the zone early in the second half when Wright started wresting control of the match.

Wright had shown an aversion to the zone in a loss against Iran, a game that forced Tuesday’s knockout match for the final quarterfinal berth for Group A.

Asked why he didn’t go with the zone as the Iranians did, Reyes took a few seconds to ponder.

“I wanted [the players] to be more aggressive and falling back on the zone did not allow that,” he said.

“We tried it in the fourth but then [when Jordan missed shots], we couldn’t get the rebounds.”

The Philippines dropped to the lower half of the quarterfinal bracket, where — at most — it will battle for ninth place.

“We worked long and hard only to be derailed by two bad breaks,” said Reyes, who still rued “the technical foul that the Greek referee slapped on us” in a heart-breaking loss to Iran that virtually doomed the country’s chances.

The other bad break, Reyes said, was the “misfortune of the draw.”

At least, on that one he had an ally.

The volcanic Palma again failed to check his temper in the post-game press conference and blasted the FIBA for allowing the formation of the Group of Death and then making his team play the day after surviving the toughest draw.

The Philippines started out hot, racing to a 24-15 lead early in the first half. But it was also at that point that the team lost its grip of the game, forcing four defensive stops but failing to convert in any of the ensuing possessions that could have broken the Jordanians early.

“That’s where we lost the ballgame,” said Reyes.

“I take full responsibility for that. The boys played hard and I’m proud of the way they played.”

The Philippines opens its campaign in the lower half of the quarterfinal bracket at 9 a.m. (local time) against Syria.

The scores:

JORDAN 84 — Wright 24, Daghles 22, Alkhas 16, Abbaas 9, Soobzokov 6, Al-Sous 3, Idais 2, Z. Abbaas 2, Anajjar 0, Bashir 0.

SAN MIGUEL-RP 76 — Taulava 14, Alapag 10, Caguioa 9, Williams 9, Hontiveros 9, Helterbrand 7, Raymundo 6, Williams 5, Ritualo 3, Menk 2, Seigle 2, Pennisi 0.

Quarters: 13-18, 33-35, 54-51, 84-76

Notes: Danny Seigle was a non-factor again for the second straight game, obviously bothered by an injury that started out as cramps against Iran. Team officials noticed a bruise on his ankle and didn’t use him against China. He played only four minutes against Jordan and scored just two points… The loss disappointed a lot of Filipino fans who came all the way here to watch the games. A lot of the Filipinos had no tickets and relied on the generosity of the likes of SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan, Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, SBP trustee Michel Lhuillier, businessman Arben Santos and many more, who purchased tickets so they could watch.

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