RP youths lose to Indons, face Thais next

KUALA LUMPUR – Team Burlington Philippines tries to bounce back from opening-day defeat when it goes up against Thailand in Day Two of the third South East Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Junior Championship at the MABA Gym here.

Beaten by Indonesia, 70-65, Tuesday night, the Philippines must sweep its three remaining games to have a chance for the title of the biennial tournament for players 18 years and under.

The Filipinos were supposed to take a break Wednesday but the unexpected defeat prompted the coaching staff to cancel a scheduled visit to the Petronas Towers and a courtesy call to Philippine Ambassador Jose Brillantes.

Instead, the coaches and the players viewed the tape of the RP-Indonesia game before holding practice in the afternoon.

Head coach Johny Tam said they are going to correct some flaws against the Indons – errant passing, poor shot selection and weak rebounding.

The Filipinos committed 20 turnovers, shot 35 percent from the floor and were outmuscled underneath the basket by the taller Indons, 40-34.

Still, the Filipinos managed to lead at 63-61 with three minutes and 38 seconds to go. Three straight deliberate fouls called by the Malaysian referee, however, spelled disaster for the Filipinos.

Thailand drew a bye Tuesday and is expected to handily beat Singapore at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Malaysia blasted Singapore, 124-42, in the other game Tuesday and will be facing Indonesia at 9 p.m. also Wednesday.