KUALA LUMPUR – The Nokia RP Youth team came out full of fire from the halftime break, totally outclassing Malaysia in the final half for a 98-67 rout at the start of the seventh SEABA junior men’s championship at the MABA gym here Thursday night.
The RP juniors fired on all cylinders in the third quarter, clamping down on the Malaysians on defense and scoring heavily on transition plays in a big turnaround from their sluggish first half.
Gabriel Banal, Mark Joel de Guzman, Frank Golla, Norberto Torres and Joseph Emmanuel Tolentino starred for the Nokia RP squad as they put their act together in the third period, outscoring the badly stunned host team, 29-4.
“We’re tight in the first half maybe because it’s our first international game. But we were confident we can pull it off because we’re down by only four at the half even as the Malaysians have obviously put in their best effort,” said coach Franz Pumaren.
The Malaysians pressed from the start and that proved to be their biggest mistake as they could no longer keep up with the Nokia RP team when the Filipinos put up their own pressing defense in the second half.
Three Malaysians in Juin Wip, Tian Yuan and Han Sin weren’t able to finish the game due to severe cramps. Juin and Tian were still down on the sidelines long after the game was over.
Malaysian coach Tan Kok Hi admitted the gambit backfired. “My players got tired. But I can’t make that as an excuse, I have big respect for the Philippine team. They’re the better team.”
The RP Juniors had some anxious moments in the first half, trailing by as many as 12, 15-17, as they took sometime to get their game going.
They played catch-up from the start and finally pulled even only at 47-all on back-to-back baskets by the 6-foot-7 Torres and Jaypee Mendoza to start the second half.
Stepping up their press before cheering Filipino fans led by benefactor Jun Sy of Tao Corp., the RP juniors raced to a 67-49 lead and never looked back.
“There’s no reason to celebrate yet because the mission is not yet over,” said Pumaren whose boys were up next against Thailand last night.
The Thais, handled by American coach Felton Sealy, walloped the Indonesians, 82-50, in the other game Thursday.
Guard Chun Khee, his stocky built belying his eligibility in this 18-under tourney, proved to be a big problem for the Filipinos early on, coming through with baskets from all angles..
He scored a game-high 23 points but he himself struggled on the efficient defense put up by the Filipinos in the final half.
Gabriel Banal, son of long-time national player and now Alaska assistant coach Joel, fired 16 points leading the Nokia RP team in a well-balanced scoring.
The Xavier High product, an incoming freshman at La Salle-Taft, made nine points in the third period.
The RP juniors, despite having the smaller frontline, dominated the battle of the boards, 46-25 with Torres, Pascual and Sangalang each pulling down at least seven rebounds. The three went up against Malaysian behemoths Yong Jing, 6-foot-9, and Tian Juan, 6-foot-8.