RP beats Indons for Southeast Asia basketball crown

By JAY R. GOTERA

MANILA

THE Philippines won its first regional basketball championship after two years in the freezer Sunday night as the Harbour Centre-Philippine team walloped SM Britama-Indonesia in the finals, 85-67, to clinch the Southeast Basketball Association (SEABA) Champions Cup.

The win vindicated the Philippines’ 74-79 loss against the same Indonesian five during the preliminary round.

The win brought the Philippines’ first international title in two years since it was suspended by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) over the country’s internal squabble on basketball affairs.

Playmaker Marvin Cruz led the Filipinos with a team-high 20 points while import Julius Nwosu provided additional firepower with a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds. Jonathan Fernandez and JC Intal also helped from outside the arc to add 16 and 12, respectively.

Coach Junel Baculi said their SEABA win was considered the sweetest since it marked the resurrection of Philippine basketball.

Meanwhile in PBA Fiesta Conference games, San Miguel had some scary moments before pulling off a 96-90 victory over Welcoat Sunday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

The win was only the second for the Beermen against seven losses. They remained at the bottom of the standings a rung lower than the Welcoat Dragons who had a 2-6 card.

In the first game, Willie Miller led Alaska in demolishing Sta. Lucia, 103-88, as the Aces kept abreast of idle Red Bull Barakos and Barangay Ginebra Kings at the top of the standings with a 7-2 card.

The San Miguel Beermen erected a 10-point lead, 91-81, going into the last two minutes of the game.

But as the fans were starting to make a bee-line for the exit at the Araneta Coliseum thinking that a San Miguel victory was assured, the Dragons suddenly uncork a nine-to-nothing run led by Alex Compton to cut the Beermen’s lead to just one, 91-90, going into the last 40 minutes of play.

But the Beermen regrouped in time despite the fouling out of import Galen Young to blunt Welcoat’s ambitions.

In the first game, the Alaska Aces outplayed the Realtors in key departments as coach Tim Cone assured himself of a stint in the league’s mid-year spectacle as coach of the South All-Stars team. The squad has Danny Seigle, Eric Menk, Dondon Hontiveros, Asi Taulava and James Yap as starters.

It will be Cone’s fifth stint in the annual classic, which will enable him to tie Sonny Jaworski and Derick Pumaren for most All-Star Game coaching jobs since the event was institutionalized in 1989.

The North All-Stars will be coached by Barangay Ginebra’s Jong Uichico.

Miller finished with 21 points, the same output tallied by import Rosell Ellis, who also had 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals as the Aces pounced on the Realtors off the boards, 52-44.

Miller, who shot 8-of-16, including 2-for-3 from the 3-point range, scored 11 points in the first quarter as the Aces took control early and never trailed after closing the quarter up 32-23.

Realtor rookie Kelly Williams led all scorers with 28 points but couldn’t provide spark when Sta. Lucia needed to get back in the game.

The Realtors struggled offensively all night, making just 39 percent of their shots.

Meantime in Carson City, California, Mark Caguioa scored 23 points and Danny Seigle added 21 Friday as Philippines-San Miguel wrapped up its two-week training in the States by shocking the Long Beach State 49ers, a US NCAA Division I school, 93-89, at the Home Depot Center.

Caguioa and Seigle carried the brunt of the Philippines’ second half comeback from double-digit deficits against the bigger, faster 49ers, but it was Jimmy Alapag who provided the crucial baskets as he tied the game 89-all with a three-point shot.

Seigle then hit two free throws with 20 seconds remaining, following a Long Beach miss, to give Philippines-San Miguel a 91-89 lead. Alapag, fouled with four seconds left, sank two free throws to ice the game.

The scores:

Alaska 103 – Miller 21, Ellis 21, Thoss 14, Laure 14, Cariaso 10, Hugnatan 9, Belasco 9, Ferriols 5, Aban 0, Bajar 0, Juinio 0.

Sta. Lucia 88 – Williams 28, Winston 17, Miranda 9, Espino 8, Aquino 6, Omolon 5, Mendoza 5, Catli 3, Gonzales 3, Magsumbol 2, Isip 2, Bughao 0, Santos 0.

Quarterscores: 32-23, 55-45, 78-57, 103-88.