Chinese giant out of Jones Cup

LAS VEGAS — Chinese giant Sun Ming Ming is out of the Passing Lane Sports lineup for the Jones Cup in Taipei.

The 7-8 3/4, 365-pound center played for Passing Lane in the Global Hoops Summit that ended here last Wednesday. He averaged 3.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 12 minutes in five games. Sun shot .571 from the floor and .500 from the line.

Passing Lane is the first US team to play in the Jones Cup in the last five years. Among the Passing Lane cagers who performed at the Summit and are seeing action in Taiwan are former Washington Wizards six-foot guard God Shammgod of Providence, 6-5 Terrance Johnson of Pepperdine, 6-2 Ben Walker of Creighton, 6-2 Michael Goldman of College of the Canyons, 6-6 Ian Boylan of California State at Northridge, 6-7 Steffon Bradford of Nebraska, 7-0 Brian Sigafoos of Harvard and 6-11 Cedric Suitt of Pepperdine.

Aside from Sun, missing in Taipei from the Las Vegas cast are Reggie Okosa, Roosevelt Brown and Anthony Glover. Additions are 6-9 Ryan Randle, 6-7 Brian Robinson, 6-11 Marcus Douthit and 6-11 Mike Williams.

Passing Lane defeated the Philippines, 80-71, at the Summit. Bradford and Suitt combined for 32 points to lead the attack. Coach Chot Reyes has a chance to avenge the defeat when the Philippines takes on Passing Lane in Taipei next Sunday.

Sun, 21, was a pitiful sight at the Summit. He obviously suffers from a pituitary gland disorder. His arms are short, reaching just below the waist, but his body is elongated.

A Summit official confided that Sun is due for an operation to stop his abnormal growth. Without surgery, he will likely die before reaching 30.

Sun trained five weeks in Greensboro, North Carolina, under Keith Gatlin before playing at the Summit. Scouts from National Basketball Association (NBA) teams Utah, Washington, Indiana, Toronto, Milwaukee and Charlotte were on hand to watch Sun in person. Sun also had a private workout organized by the Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff last April.

Sun’s showing at the Summit was far from impressive. ’He looks like a work in progress," an NBA scout noted.

Sun hardly jumped whenever he contested a rebound. At least, he showed a deft touch from 10 feet in. Defenders had a field day slapping the ball from his small hands.

Philippine center Romel Adducul, who stands 6-6, was dwarfed by Sun when they stood side by side at courtside for a photo during a lull at the Summit. Sonny Thoss and Kerby Raymundo also posed for pictures with Sun.

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The standout in the Chinese club Aoshen, also known as the Beijing Olympians, was 6-8 forward Huang Hai Bei who averaged 23.2 points and 8.6 rebounds in five games. He shot .480 from the floor and .714 from the stripe.

Huang, 24, was a fixture on the Chinese national youth team in 2001.

Aoshen failed to win a single game, losing to the Philippines by 15, the Long Beach Jam by 39, BTG Express by 21, ESM Sports by 46 and SFX Sports by 31.

Burly 7-1 center Shan Tao, who suited up for the Chinese national squad at the 1994 World Championships and 1996 Atlanta Olympics, played only two games at the Summit. Shan, 35, scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 12 minutes against the Philippines. He had three points and two rebounds in three minutes against SFX Sports.

Overweight and lumbering, Shan was a ghost of his old self. His belly stuck out to form a mound under his jersey. Shan appeared to take a personal interest in Huang and often took him aside during timeouts to give advice.

Excluding Shan, the Aoshen players’ average age was only 22.

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Former Talk N Text coach Bill Bayno recently called the shots for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 16-team, 10-day NBA Vegas Summer League that preceded the Global Hoops Summit at the Cox Pavilion in the University of Nevada at Las Vegas campus.

Bayno said he was hired by Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks last November.

"I’m going back to Manila in September and spend about two weeks working with Talk N Text before the next PBA conference opens," said Bayno.

Newly-appointed Blazers coach Nate McMillen told The STAR he’ll consider retaining Bayno in his staff for the coming season but couldn’t be sure.

Another ex-Talk N Text coach Paul Woolpert was at the Cox Pavilion. He said he was called by McMillen for a possible Blazers coaching job.

Two former Talk N Text consultants Bob Thornton and Maz Trakh were also scouting the NBA games. Ex-PBA imports who played in the Vegas league were Noel Felix of New Jersey, Randy Holcomb and Hiram Fuller of Washington and Ira Clark and Dalron Johnson of Portland.

Clark, 30, played for Tanduay in 1999 and 2000. The 6-8 forward from the University of Texas said if he’s within the height limit for imports in the next PBA conference to look him up.

"Chique de la Rosa was the agent who brought me to the PBA," said Clark. ’I have great memories of the Philippines. My coach was Al Chua. If I don’t make it to the Portland lineup, I’ll go to the Houston camp and if that doesn’t work out, I’ll check out other options."

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National coach Chot Reyes said he was initially apprehensive of the quality of competition at the Summit when the Qatar and South Korean national teams pulled out. But he later found out the competition was tougher than expected.

Summit organizers said Qatar backed out because of US visa problems. Chot said South Korea probably withdrew to prepare for the Jones Cup.

During the game against Long Beach, Chot was overheard scolding the players for allowing the Jam to erect an early lead. He told the boys to cover the Philippine flags on their uniforms because of their shameful performance and they didn’t fly all the way to Las Vegas to enjoy a vacation.

Obviously, the players responded, took up Chot’s challenge and rose to the occasion in the second half.

"One thing about our guys, they don’t quit," said Chot proudly. "All the guys contributed even Rich (Alvarez) and Sonny (Thoss) who didn’t play in the second half but did their part in the first with tough defense."

Jam guard Fred Vinson, who played for Carol-Ann’s in the Philippine Basketball League a few years ago, paid tribute to the Filipinos for their never-say-die spirit.

"They wore me out," said Vinson who suited up for Atlanta and Seattle in the NBA. "They play hard, they’re quick and they’re excellent outside shooters."

Cantrell, a former Talk N Text import, said he warned his teammates to take the Philippines seriously before the game. "You can’t underestimate the Filipinos because they fight to the last possession," he said. "They play smart. From when I played in the PBA, I noticed there’s much better ball movement, execution and motion in the offense."

Vinson and Cantrell combined for 37 points but couldn’t hold off the Filipinos who won, 93-92, in a squeaker.

Long Beach dominated the boards, 45-36, and hit more free throws, 18-6, but the Philippines shot .519 from the field to the Jam’s .479. The Filipinos forced 16 turnovers and had three less. Outside shooting made the difference as the Philippines buried seven treys, four from James Yap, and the Jam, only four. The Summit’s three-point arc is the NBA distance which is over a foot farther than the international line.

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First-timers in the US among the national cagers were Sonny, Kerby, James Yap and Dondon Hontiveros.

Hontiveros was a late addition to the team. He made it after San Miguel Beer clinched the Fiesta Conference title in five games. If the Finals extended to seven games, he couldn’t have gone.

Hontiveros arrived in Las Vegas two days after the others flew in. He missed only the Aoshen game at the Summit. Hontiveros badly wanted to go to the US because his two-year visa expires in October.