RP under-18 belles play tuneup games in Taiwan

MANILA, Philippines - The Careline-RP Women’s Under-18 team leaves for Taiwan tomorrow for a series of exhibition games against various clubs as part of its buildup for the FIBA-Asia Women’s Championship in June.

RP coach Pat Aquino expressed gratitude to Taiwan’s Basketball Association for allowing them to train and play several goodwill games as they hope to gain enough confidence when it competes in the FIBA-Asia Championship slated in Suritthaya, Thailand.

Ever Bilena Cosmetics chairman and RP women’s junior godfather Dioceldo Sy will help finance the trip of the RP team whose members are being recruited by top UAAP schools. Also supporting their trip are Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, headed by business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan, and Philippine Sports Commission, led by chairman Harry Angping.

The recruitment of their players by some schools, according to Aquino and Sy, is a positive sign that they’re doing the right way in helping these players polish and toughen their skills.

But Aquino and team manager Johnson Martinez lament the team’s present condition as some schools are giving their players the hard time to practice with the RP team although they are not yet members of the school’s varsity teams.

“Sometimes, we can’t practice as a whole team since they give our players a hard time to practice with us,” said Martinez. “We can’t achieve our goal if they will not cooperate with us. This is a matter of national concern since our country’s honor is at stake in the coming Asian tournament.”

Trisha Piatos, Tara Araneta and Ara Abaca are expected to lead the charge of the RP belles.

The RP belles, according to Aquino, face a tall order of beating the likes of Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Koreans who are expected to field tall and formidable squads in the FIBA-Asia tournament set on June 23-30.

“It’s going to be tough, but through the support of the SBP, we can hope for a better showing,” said Aquino.