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SEABA Mission accomplished
Harbour Centre - Philippine team gets back at
Indons for crown
by Noli Cortez
JAKARTA. – The Philippines is definitely back on the
international basketball arena with a top podium finish.
The Filipinos’ sterling reentry into the international cage
scene was punctuated by an 85-67 victory scored by Team
Harbour Centre-RP over SM-Indonesia Saturday for the 2007
SEABA Club Championship crown at the Britama Arena here.
Diminutive spitfire Marvin Cruz set up the table and hulking
import Julius Nwosu cleared it up, leading the total
demolition job on the erstwhile imprudent Indons and paving
the way for the Nationals’ emphatic return to the
international scene following a two-year suspension imposed
by the FIBA.
It could only get better.
The win ensured the Filipinos’ stint in the FIBA-Asia
Champions Club tournament set May 12-20 in Tehran, Iran, and
the importance was stressed no end by FIBA-Asia
secretary-general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock during the awarding
ceremony.
"This is your ticket to Tehran," Choo Hock told Harbour
owner Mikee Romero while handing over copies of the entry
form for the FIBA Asian Club Championship. "This is
historic."
The forms, to be filled out and submitted to FIBA no later
than April 20, will be handed over by Romero to the
BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, which will then send an
all-pro team currently training under coach Chot Reyes to
the club tournament the Filipinos have won four times
before, the last two under current Harbour-RP coach Junel
Baculi.
"Kahit na SEABA lang, ito pa rin ang pinakamasarap sa lahat
since this is the country’s first international title
following the FIBA suspension. At the same time, we paved
the way for coach Chot’s team to compete in the FIBA-Asia
Champions Cup and there’s no more gratifying other than
that," said Baculi.
"Mission accomplished!" Romero gushed at the final buzzer of
the rugged, at times rough, championship game which the PBL-backed
team led by 15 points at the half and as many as 20 the rest
of the way.
Business tycoon and SBP head Manny V. Pangilinan, PBA
Commissioner Noli Eala, PBL counterpart Chino Trinidad and
the amateur league’s other officials led those who
immediately sent congratulatory messages to the Nationals
here, but none were prouder than Romero and PBL chairman Gil
Angeles.
The Port Masters, now called "Batang Pier," have twice
emerged champion in the PBL but Romero maintains nothing
compares to winning this one for the country.
"This makes us all proud to be Filipinos," Romero said while
the entire team basked in the adulation of a motley group of
raucous Filipino supporters who personally witnessed the
match and helped take away some of the hosts’ home crowd
advantage.
This one is worth savoring over and over again.
The Filipinos were prevented from scoring a four-game sweep
of the tournament following a 74-79 loss to the Indons last
Wednesday. But their confidence never wavered and was in
fact further boosted by defensive and defensive strategies
drawn up by Baculi and chief assistant Louie Alas and some
input by the other PBL mentors present here.
The 5-foor-8 Cruz, named tournament MVP and assist leader,
led the Nationals with 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting,
hitting all eight of his free throws and rising up when it
became clearly obvious he was the primary target of the
Indonesians’ ire.
His teammates readily took the cue, coming out blazing for a
10-2 lead, stretching it to 16-4, before settling for a 22-8
count after the first quarter, right there taking the
hometown crowd that included some local dignitaries out of
the match.
"He’s cool, with a gangster’s mentality," Nwosu said of
Toyota-Balintawak’s star playmaker. "He’d like, if he had a
gun, he’d shoot everybody, go to the funeral and give some
money to the victims’ family."
The statement was borne of Cruz draining the hosts’ morale
with his daredevil drives and nifty passes while throwing
blank stares at those who knocked him down or gave him a
hard foul.
Nwosu, voted the final’s best player, divided his time
hammering 6-foot-11 Australian Ian Crosswhite at the blocks,
taking away the Indonesian import’s low post plays, and
stepping up to whoever was bullying Cruz.
Nwosu, who has won championships from Russia to Greece, the
PBA (Red Bull) to Romania, added another glittering entry to
his resume after finishing with 18 points and 16 rebounds,
and was the recipient of the game’s highlight play, an
inbounds alley-oop pass from fellow reinforcement Vidal
Massiah (10 rebounds), catching and dunking the ball for a
three-point play that made it 83-64.
"I call it perfect," said Massiah of his pass.
It could also be called "For all the pain to go away," as he
is still has an aching gimpy knee, the hurt he feels
compounded by the passing away of his grandmother, who
raised him, the other day.
Jonathan Fernandez and JC Intal were major contributors to
the winning effort with five triples between them, Intal
twice beating the shot clock from beyond the arc.
Ryan Arana, not utilized in the teams’ first meeting,
chipped in seven points but did more by initializing the
tough defense on Indonesia’s other import, Kueth Duany.
Duany still led Indonesia with 23 points, while Crosswhite
added 17. But much of their effectiveness was taken away by
the Nationals’ stingy defense, 11 of 13 free throws, and
59-40 rebounding edge.
The scores
Harbour Centre-RP (85) - Cruz 20, Nwosu 18, Fernandez 16,
Intal 12, Arana 7, Massiah 6, Castro 4, F. Rodriguez 2,
Magpayo 0, Lanete 0, L. Rodriguez 0.
SM Britana-Indonesia (67) - Duany 23, Crosswhite 17, Achmad
11, Gunawan 6, Sumargo 5, Prihantono 3, Wijaya 2, Sitepu 0,
Sondakh 0, Jati 0, Situmorang 0.
Quarterscores: 22-8; 40-25; 63-45; 85-67.
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