TIANJIN, China: All the talk about Japeth Aguilar being the big man for the Philippines in the future was put on hold by the country’s big man of the very recent past.
Asi Taulava played with unusual vigor Friday night and spearheaded the Philippines to an exciting 78-69 decision of Japan that kept the Filipinos unbeaten in the 25th Fiba-Asia World Championship qualifier at the Tianjin gymnasium here.
A tad slower and way heavier than when he first burst into the international scene for the Philippines, Taulava played like the Asi of old, hustling up and down the court and grabbing crucial boards to help the Filipinos claw out of an 11-point hole.
It was the second straight win for the Philippines in Group A action and it not only improved the prospects of a high ranking in the second phase of the eliminations but it also inched them closer toward the quarterfinals.
“That was my twin brother playing out there,” Taulava joked with Filipino reporters later after shooting 11 points and grabbing eight rebounds in a 17-minute stint off the bench. “My twin brother had a great game tonight.”
His performance was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Philippines, which missed the agile, 6-foot-10 Aguilar because of a strained knee.
Another big man, starting center Sonny Thoss, was great, shooting 15 points while matching Taulava’s eight rebounds, with Willie Miller scattering 10 markers and dishing off four assists.
The loss was the second straight for the Japanese, who clash with lowly Sri Lanka to close out their first round stint. Korea is the other unbeaten team in Group A after scoring a 122-54 ripping of the Sri Lankans in the first game Friday.
With the victory, the Filipinos assured themselves of advancing as at least the second-ranked team in inter-group action. The top three teams in Groups A and B will advance and clash with the qualifiers coming from the opposite group in another round robin.
That means that the Philippines would be scheduled to play Iran, Chinese-Taipei and possibly Kuwait or Uzbekistan in the next round, where won-lost records in the first round will be carried over.
From there, the top four teams in inter-group action will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be knockout games and where the Filipinos will get the chance to clash with title-favorites China , Jordan , Lebanon and Qatar .
The Filipinos trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, starting with a speed unit that almost fell prey to a tall opening five by Japan featuring the 6-foot-10 Takeuchi twins Joji and Kosuke and 6-foot-9 Shunsuke Ito.
Compounding the Filipinos’ slow start was some truly cold shooting from the outside, and if not for triples that beat the first and second quarter horns, Team Philippines could have been in a lot of trouble.
After a long uphill climb, the Philippines finally surged ahead, 50-49, with 3:18 to go in the third period after Miller scored on a lay-up. And the Filipinos were not done there, dropping a 16-4 bomb to open up the fourth for a 72-57 lead going into the final five minutes.
“I cannot take credit for the win,” said coach Yeng Guiao, who, despite blowing a 19-point lead against Japan in the Jones Cup practically guaranteed a win here. “They willed themselves to win this game.
“We didn’t expect to beat them (Japanese) that way (by a big margin),” he added. “This is a stepping stone for us toward playing better against Korea .”
The Nationals clash with the deadly South Koreans at 9 Saturday night, with a win giving them a sweep and practically a spot in the eight-team quarterfinals.
But Guiao knows that it will not be easy. Definitely not like this game against the Japanese.
“We will still be the underdogs (against the Koreans),” Guiao said.
