RP cagers go thru wringer vs Nanan

NANAN, China–Like in their previous showdown four years ago, host Nanan made life miserable for the Philippines on the basketball court.

But the Fillipinos, supported by FedEx and Burlington, made sure the ending would be a lot different this time.

John Ferriols and Ricky Ricafuente came through with the clutch baskets, Danny Capobres and Ryan Bernardo shone on the defensive end and Jun Gabica orchestrated the plays as the Philippines brought down Nanan, 87-75, before another huge crowd in the sixth Zheng Chenggong Cup international men’s basketball tournament at the Nanan Sports Center here Tuesday.

Ferriols hit a difficult fadeaway jumper off two Chinese defenders with the shot clock winding down to trigger a decisive 18-6 run that enabled the Filipinos to finally take control, 83-70, with only two minutes remaining from a precarious 65-64 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

Ricafuente nailed a long three-point shot and added a short jumper while Capobres barreled his way for another basket during the decisive four-minute stretch that finally took the fight out of the taller and heftier Chinese and turned the hometown crowd’s jeers into cheers.

The loudest cheers went to Gabica, a 5-10 playmaker from Philippine College of Criminology, who ably kept the team together after the Chinese came back strong and reduced a 13-point lead in the third quarter by the Filipinos (55-42) to only one (65-64).

The win — the second in as many matches — enabled the Filipinos to keep a share of the lead with Hong Kong in this five-nation, week-long championship being held in this historic city described by many famous works of scholars as the "Savant by the Sea."

The Philippines debuted with a smashing 114-78 win over Singapore Monday night.

"After Singapore, it’s a big boost to us to win over Nanan. Tatlong panalo na lang," said head coach Johny Tam, who is hoping to win his second international title following a similar triumph here in 1999.

"Nakabawi na din tayo sa kanila," added Tam, referring to the Filipinos’ heartbreaking loss to the same Nanan team in 1999.

Ferriols, who personally sought the approval of team manager LIto Alvarez to be able to join the country’s title-retention campaign, topscored with 25 points, including 13 in the seocnd quarter alone.

Mark Macapagal added 14 points despite being bothered by the pesky defense of the Chinese, while Capobres contributed 13 points, seven of them in the first period.

Bernardo, the third player in the FedEx lineup after Ferriols and Capobres, had nine points.

Next up for the Filipinos is another Chinese team, Guangdong, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

"Although a lot smaller than their Nanan counterparts, Guangdong players are faster. We need to change strategy dahil hindi pwedeng sabayan sa takbuhan," said assistant coach Ching Marcelino.

After Guangdong, the Philippines will meet Indonesia on Thursday and Hong Kong on Friday.