MANILA, 17 August 2006 — Call it a painful victory.
Team Philippines pounded Lebanon from inside and out for a 105-100 victory at the conclusion of their goodwill series last night, but it was a win that put more pain in the heart of RP coach Chot Reyes after it sunk in.
“We showed (everyone) that we can play and win at this level,” Reyes said after the win gave the Philippines a 2-0 sweep of the Lebanese. “I’m happy and disappointed at the same time because we cannot play in the Asian Games.”
Reyes said that he finally got to assemble the team that he wants against Lebanon, ranked second behind mighty China in the region.
And he believes that the Philippines has what it takes to compete and post an upset in Doha, Qatar, where the 15th Asiad will be played in December.
The Philippines has been suspended from participating in international tournaments by the world-governing body FIBA because of an on-going power struggle in the sport.
The Basketball Association of the Philippines, the body recognized by the FIBA, was expelled by the Philippine Olympic Committee in July last year after failing to come up with a credible program that would bring Philippine basketball back to its glory days.
But instead of acceding to public clamor, the BAP has stuck by its claim as the duly-recognized basketball body, compounding the problems of the country and taking it out of the international scene.
“I have three prayers,” Reyes said. “One is for our sports leaders to get united, second the FIBA gets enlightened and decides to lift out suspension and third we be allowed to play again.”
The series sweep actually snapped a 10-game slide in international tournaments for Reyes, who finished sixth in the Jones Cup in Taipei and was winless in six games in an invitational tournament in Qatar just last month.
Ren-Ren Ritualo scored 19 points built around five triples, while Mick Pennisi, Jimmy Alapag, Willie Miller, Kelly Williams and Ranidel de Ocampo combined to nail down another nine attempts that completely baffled the Lebanese.
It was a victory that was as fair as it could be after the Lebanese shook off jetlag compared to their 75-94 loss Friday last week at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Nationals bucked a slow start and a 33-point explosion from Lebanese star all-round player Fadi El Khatib.
Pennisi nailed a triple with time down to 63 seconds after a missed three-point attempt by Brian Bichara on the other end and Jimmy Alapag made a charity as San Miguel-Pilipinas all but wrapped up the win at 102-98.
The Nationals took a 46-44 edge at halftime but not after falling behind by 14 points early on.
A triple and a fastbreak layup by Miller had the host team surging ahead for the first time at 38-37 with 2:20 to go in the opening half.
Before the ceasefire with Israel took effect, the Lebanese players managed to sneak out of the country at the height of the armed conflict between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas that started on July 12.
Lebanon used the Manila goodwill series as part of its preparations for the FIBA world championships which start Saturday in Japan.
