Jordan shatters RP dream

TIANJIN – Powerade Team Pilipinas came to within five points of powerhouse Jordan in the last of its repeated comebacks but came up short in the end to absorb a 70-81 defeat that sent the Filipinos out of the race for a berth in the 2010 World Championship.

Rasheim Wright and company reaffirmed their mastery over the Filipinos, becoming the RP team’s tormentors for the second FIBA Asia Championship in a row.

Wright, a prolific naturalized Jordanian, came through with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal, leading Jordan to a first-ever Final Four stint in the biennial Asian meet.

Jordan, said to be in the third quarter of a $5-million five-year program under Portuguese coach Mario Palma, meets reigning champion Iran in the semifinals. Iran advanced to the Final Four with a 75-65 win over Qatar.

“We played against a good team today. This is a better Philippine team than the one we played in Tokushima,” said Palma.

“This team can shoot three-pointers and can penetrate to the basket. It’s not easy to play against a team that can do this,” Palma added. “But in the end, we won on defense and rebounding. We won the rebound battle and it gave us much points on fastbreak.”

“We tried to keep the game as close as possible, hoping to beat them in the end. I felt we had a chance specially when we got to within five. But we’re not able to sustain the momentum,” said RP coach Yeng Guiao.

Although disappointed over the loss, Guiao said there’s a positive side to their Fiba-Asia stint. “Given a few more months of preparation, we really can compete with the best in FIBA Asia,” Guiao said.

Missing the Final Four and a shot at a slot in the 2010 world meet, Powerade-RP was relegated to the fight for fifth to eighth spots.

The Nationals play the Qataris at 2 p.m. today with the winner gaining a shot at fifth place.

For some solace, the RP team has improved the country’s ninth-place finish in Tokushima, Japan in 2007.

Guiao felt they could have beaten Jordan if only everyone played their regular game.

“The loss would have been easier to accept if we played our best. But I know that a lot of them or some of them played below their capacity. What we’re asking was for them to do what they’re doing in the PBA,” said Guiao.

“Kerby (Raymundo) and Jayjay (Helterbrand) weren’t able to put up exceptional games close to what they’re doing in the PBA,” he added. “I was hoping for them to play at least 80 to 85 percent of their regular games. Combine that to the regular games of Willie Miller, Cyrus Baguio and James Yap plus a good defense and we would really have a chance.”

Gabe Norwood put in 11 points including two triples in a 11-1 opening run in the fourth quarter that had the Nationals coming to within five points at 63-68.

But after Jordan sued for time, the Nationals lost their momentum on back-to-back errors by Miller and Raymundo.

The Nationals engaged the Jordanians in a torrid battle in the first 14 minutes of the game forcing a 27-all dealock before Jordan unleashed a decisive 21-4 assault to establish a 14-point spread at 45-31.

The Jordanians highlighted that run with five triples although the Filipinos won the three-point shooting battle in the end with 12 to Jordan’s eight.

Jordan dominated the paint, though, at 49-38, getting more second chance points at 16-8.