RP topples Malaysians in SEABA youth opener

LUCENA CITY — Relying on blinding speed and a no-nonsense defense, the RP Burlington Youth Team surprised the much taller Malaysians on the way to an 84-44 rout at the start of the fourth South East Asia Junior Basketball Championship at the Quezon Convention Center here.

The Filipinos had the Malaysians gasping for air in a telling 25-7 start that set the tone of the contest watched by a capacity crowd which cheered the Filipinos no end.

Ironically, it was the smallest cager in coach Johny Tam’s line-up that led the way for the Filipinos, who led from start to finish. James Martinez, playing out of NCAA champion San Beda Red Cubs, topscored with 14 points, while teammate JR Taganas banged in 13 points on top of 13 rebounds.

Two other players — Darryl Bautista and Dylan Ababou — also finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively as the Filipinos easily scored their first win in the tournament organized by the Basketball Association of the Philippines and the local governments of Quezon and Lucena City and supported by Burlington Socks, ACCEL, YKL, Healthy Options, Molten, Absolute Distilled Water, Cebuana Lhuillier, Lifan and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Martinez easily got through the Malaysians’ spotty defense with his deft penetrations, while Taganas ran rings around his defenders on the paint in the third quarter, where he scored eight.