TAIPEI: Even with a valid reason, Yeng Guiao wouldn’t have been forgiven had he blown this one.
Giving his “rookies” the baptism of fire they need, Guiao let them play the endgame without the benefit of a timeout in the final quarter yesterday as Team Philippines barely scraped past Chinese Taipei developmental team, 94-90, in Jones Cup action on Saturday.
With a huge number of Filipino OFWs watching, the Filipinos almost blew control because of seven fourth quarter turnovers until they showed their real worth in the endgame to eventually pound out their second win at the Hsinchuang Gym here.
Philippine Team newcomers Japeth Aguilar, Arwind Santos and Jared Dillinger joined hands with Asi Taulava and Wynne Arboleda in scuttling the Taiwanese rally as the Filipinos primed themselves up for their final game against Iran at 1 p.m. today.
“I wanted them to gain the experience in closing out a game,” said Guiao after getting 22 points from Willie Miller and double figure scores from three others. “That would be a vital component for them going into the Fiba-Asia.”
Dillinger and Aguilar missed four free throws in succession, leaving Taiwan-B within 92-88, but Santos, a consistent member of the PBA’s all-defensive team, picked Taiwanese forward Chang Tsung’s pocket for a breakaway lay-up that made it 94-88 with 35 seconds to go.
“Taiwan is a tough team to beat because of its quickness,” Guiao said. “They broke down our individual defense. And when we tried to play a zone, they shot well from the outside and so we had to revert to the man-to-man.”
In an earlier game, Jordan, which forfeited its Thursday’s game with Iran in protest over officiating, crushed Japan, 93-58, for its sixth win in seven outings.
Japan played with just seven men and finished with six as the other members of the squad went down with food poisoning.
Meanwhile, PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios exhorted the national players to “shape up for the mission ahead” while reminding them that only an “optimum performance” can spell success in the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Basketball Championship in Tianjin, China in two weeks. Speaking to team members, including national coach Yeng Guiao and manager JB Baylon, after a mass offered at the Sunworld Dynasty Hotel for the recovery of a gravely ill former President Corazon Aquino, Barrios addressed the need for the players to get in top condition and to work on their outside shooting and free throws.
“Do it for yourselves, the PBA, and — take this seriously for they are not empty words — for flag and country,” Barrios said.
Shooting percentages gathered from the 2007 RP-Tokushima team coached by Chot Reyes, the latest season of the NBA and the PBA, and the Powerade-RP’s performance in the 8th SEABA Men’s Championship in Medan last June revealed disappointing numbers.
“Sad to say, guys, we’re lagging behind, fourth and last, in combined field goal percentage, especially in three-point conversion, and in free throw shooting,” he said. “So now you know what kind of work you have to cram into the last 10 days.”
Ryan Reyes and Ranidel de Ocampo were named as alternates and Barrios talked about this decision of coaching staff in front of the team.
“We would have submitted all 14 players to the FIBA Asia but the requirement was just for 12,” Barrios said. “However, this we told the two guys and this I share to all of you now: the coach has the discretion to change anybody in the lineup three days before the tournament begins if he feels a need for it.”
For today’s final game, Guiao said that he will try several defensive strategies on the hulking Iranians.
“We will try the zone (against Iran),” Guiao told a handful of Filipino scribes. “We will test our defense against them. I would want to learn how our zone (defense) can react against such a tall team.”
Jay-Jay Helterbrand sat out the game together with Mick Pennisi, who stayed in the hotel because of a slight fever. There was nothing wrong with the Barangay Ginebra guard Helterbrand, who has completely recovered from a hamstring injury.
The Philippines dedicated the game to the ailing former President Corazon Aquino, as members of the delegation wore a strip of yellow tape on their chests.
