Ex-Laker lifts Nigeria over RP

LAS VEGAS — It took former Los Angeles Lakers guard Ime Udoka to bail Nigeria out of trouble.

Udoka scored eight of his 19 points in the fourth period as Nigeria survived a scare to beat the Philippines, 68-62, in the final game of the five-day Global Hoops Summit at the Cox Pavilion on the University of Nevada at Las Vegas campus Wednesday night (yesterday morning, Manila).

Jay-Jay Helterbrand hit a triple to move the Philippines within a point, 54-53, early in the payoff quarter then Udoka led a scorching 10-1 surge as Nigeria erected its biggest lead, 64-54, with 4:15 to go.

But the Philippines refused to surrender. Tony de la Cruz ignited a 6-0 blast that trimmed the gap to four, 64-60, with 2:38 remaining. Koko Archibong knocked down a 15-foot jumper on the next play to ease the pressure and Udoka netted another field goal after a Helterbrand miss to make it, 68-60, time down to 1:09. De la Cruz hit a jumper with 49.7 ticks left and neither team scored again.

The game was a humdinger and kept the fans at the edge of their seats until the final buzzer. There were eight lead changes and the teams battled to three ties, the last at 41-all midway the third period.

Udoka, 26, played for the Lakers in 2003-04 and averaged 24.2 points for Vichy Auvergne in the French premier pro league this past season. The 6-6 sharpshooter was born in Portland to Nigerian parents and attended Portland State where he averaged 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in 1999-2000.

With top gunner Ren-Ren Ritualo sidelined because of a strained left calf muscle, the Philippines got off to a sluggish start and tallied only nine points in the first period. Then Dondon Hontiveros went to work, firing 11 of his 16 points in the second quarter as the Philippines stormed back with a bang. Kerby Raymundo’s layup gave the Philippines its first taste of the lead, 30-29, with 2:40 left in the period.

De la Cruz completed a three-point play to push the Philippines back on top, 35-34, as the third period started. He connected again as the Philippines went up, 41-38, in what turned out to be its last lead.

Nigerian center Julius Nwosu, who played for Purefoods and Red Bull in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), sat out the contest and watched from the stands. He said he didn’t want to play against friends.

Without Nwosu, Nigerian coach Sam Vincent leaned on 6-9 Ekene Ibekwe of Mryland, 6-11 Mohammed Lasege of Louisville and 6-8 Koko Archibong of Pennsylvania to dominate the interior. Nigeria finished with 10 blocked shots to the Philippines’ one.

What kept the Philippines in the thick of things was its defense. National coach Chot Reyes dazzled the Nigerians with a variety of defensive maneuvers, from a full-court press to the halfcourt trap to a zone and to a man-to-man.

The Philippines scored only a single three-point basket in the second half and badly missed Ritualo’s sniping. Since outside shooting is a major component in the Philippines’ offense, it became difficult to execute in the halfcourt with the perimeter shooters gone cold. Exacerbating the problem was the Filipinos’ inability to score inside the lane because of the Nigerians’ superior heft and height.

After the contest, Summit organizers gave Reyes the game ball in recognition of the Philippines as the most exciting team in the conclave. League director of business development Albert Hall said he knew the Philippines would perform creditably.

"I was told by NBA scout Dell Demps, who played in the PBA, the Philippine team would give a good account of itself," said Hall. "I guess he knows what the Filipino players are capable of. The Philippines competed in every game and never gave up. The win over the Long Beach Jam was a thriller. They’re exciting and fun to watch and the support they got from the Filipino community was fantastic. We’d like to invite the Philippines to play again next year, perhaps with its other national players who had to stay behind because of the PBA Finals."

Reyes said the Filipinos proved in the Summit that they can compete against bigger, stronger and more athletic players.

"It was a great opportunity to experience playing under international conditions, something we’ll carry over when we play in the qualifiers for the World Championships and the Olympics, if we’re allowed to," said Reyes. "The trip was worth it. Our team will be much stronger now because of this experience. I told the players how proud I am of them for their effort and that it was a privilege for me to coach them. I hope they all feel they’ve gotten better individually and as a team because of this experience."

Against Nigeria, Reyes said failure to execute in the homestretch sealed the Philippines’ fate. "We stayed in the game playing against NBA veterans and international imports," he noted. "We did a lot of things defensively that worked. It was our offense that failed us. We could’ve used Ren-Ren in the game."

Don Allado sprained his left ankle in the second period, limped back to the bench and didn’t play again. He was the team’s second casualty in the Summit.

The Philippines ended the Summit with a 2-3 record.

Next in line for the national team is the Jones Cup in Taipei where Reyes said, the players’ endurance and resiliency will once more be tested by playing nine games on nine straight days.