RP youths hold off Thais, earn SEABA final

LUCENA CITY– RP Burlington Youth Team’s scoring machine wasn’t as prolific yesterday. Still, the Nationals managed to score a three-game sweep that formally sent them to the finals of the fourth South East Asia Junior Basketball Championship at the Quezon Convention Center here.

Working behind the trio of San Beda Red Cubs’ Ogie Menor, James Martinez and JR Taganas, Burlington Youth Team turned back a hard-fighting Thailand, 89-80, and in the process, put the Filipinos one win away from getting back the crown it lost to Malaysia two years ago.

Martinez led the Nationals with 24 points, five assists and four steals, while Menor proved to be a tower of power for the Philippines, finishing with 22 points and 16 rebounds. JR Taganas added 13 in a contest, which the Thais controlled in the first 12 minutes of the game.

The Filipinos will go into the finals today, but their opponents will only be known after the game between Singapore and Malaysia, which were still playing as of presstime. Should Singapore win the game, it will advance against the Filipinos. Malaysia, on the other hand, must win over Singapore by eight points or more to make it to the finals. If they win by less than eight, Thailand will go into the finals.

Whatever happens, the Filipinos are picked to win and take home the championship in the week-long tournament organized by the Basketball Association of the Philippines and the local government of Lucena City and Quezon and supported by Burlington Socks, Cebuana Lhuillier, Healthy Options Lifan, Molten, Accel, FedEx and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Surprising the Filipinos with a near-flawless shooting from the perimeter complemented by a stingy defense, the Thais took a 19-18 first-quarter lead and even padded it to eight, 38-30, with only 2:24 left in the second quarter.