Champs Cup dry-run for bigger things

Manila, Philippines - The FIBA-Asia Champions Cup isn’t just Smart Gilas’ biggest test before seeking an Olympic ticket at the FIBA-Asia Championships in Wuhan, China, this September but it’s also a gauge of the organizing skills of the host Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas (SBP).

“We consider the Champions Cup to be behind only the FIBA-Asia Championships as the most prestigious FIBA-Asia tournament,” said SBP deputy executive director Bernie Atienza. “That’s why we’re doing everything possible to make sure the event is a big success. In a sense, this is a dry-run for bigger things to come. We had hoped to host the coming FIBA-Asia Championships but China won out because of its extensive media mileage. We’re determined to put on a good show to prove our capabilities of hosting a major FIBA-Asia tournament.”

Atienza said the SBP has mobilized 60 volunteers for the event. “We learned from our experience in the Youth Olympic Games and other big international competitions how important the volunteers’ role is,” he said. “In our case, they’ll be acting as ushers, liaison officers and coordinators. We’ll back up FIBA-Asia in providing live stats for every game, accessible through the FIBA-Asia website. We’ll also offer tours for our visitors as Jun-Jun Capistrano has invited to take the FIBA-Asia guests around Intramuros.”

The organizers are making available the Brent, Meralco and Ronac gyms and the PhilSports Arena for team practices. In all, 33 games will be played during the tournament up to June 5. The preliminary round will consist of 20 games, the classification round six, the quarterfinals four, the semifinals two and the finals one.

Al Ittihad Jeddah of Saudi Arabia was the first team to arrive last Tuesday. Applied Science University (ASU) of Jordan was the last entry to fly in yesterday afternoon. Other teams in town are the Westsports Kuala Lumpur Dragons of Malaysia, Duhok of Iraq, Al Shabab of the United Arab Emirates, Mahram of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Al Jalaa of Syria, Al Rayyan of Qatar and Al Riyadi of Lebanon.

Lineups were settled at the managers meeting in the Discovery Suites yesterday. Each team paid a participating fee of $200 and every foreign player, $100. Atienza said under FIBA rules, a change from the original roster earlier submitted by each team will entail an $800 fee.

Gilas team manager Butch Antonio said the Champions Cup is a tougher test than the Jones Cup. “I think the Champions Cup is stronger because it’s basically the national teams with imports,” said Antonio. “Besides, we’re not too sure the Jones Cup teams will go all out with FIBA-Asia just roughly a month away.” After the Champions Cup, Gilas is slated to play games in Turkey and Portugal then will compete in the Jones Cup in Taipei in August.

Tipped to crowd Gilas in the race for the Champions Cup crown are Mahram and ASU. Mahram, coached by Mehran Shahintab, is fresh from capturing the Iranian league title, repulsing Zob Ahan Esfahan, 105-96, in overtime in Game 5 to clinch the best-of-five series last Monday. Leading Mahram’s attack is 7-1 Senegal center Cheikh Samb who compiled 35 points and 23 rebounds in the title series closer. Samb, 26, was the Los Angeles Lakers second round pick in the 2006 NBA draft and has played for Detroit, Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers and New York in two NBA seasons. Also in Mahram’s cast are crack point guard Mahdi Kamrani and 6-6 forward Samad Nikkhah Bahrami who averaged 17.2 points in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Kamrani and Bahrami were mainstays in Iran’s back-to-back FIBA-Asia championship squads in 2007 and 2009. Iranian 7-4 center Jaber Rouzbahani, 25, is Samb’s reliever in the middle.

ASU is bannered by former PBA import Jameel Watkins of Georgetown University and mainstays of the Jordan national team that crushed the Philippines’ title hopes via an 81-70 decision in the quarterfinals of the 2009 FIBA-Asia Championships in Tianjin. Watkins, 34, is a 6-10 center who played for Shell and Magnolia in three PBA conferences. The Jordan stars who conspired to bring down Gilas two years ago are 6-8 Zaid Abbas, 6-7 Enver Soobzokov of California State at San Bernardino (the same school where Jimmy Alapag played) and 6-6 Sam Daghlas of Midwestern State University.

Al Jalaa of Syria is the tournament darkhorse with NBA veteran Samaki Walker of Louisville and deadshot Jamaal Miller of Green River Community College as coach Mensur Bajramovic’s imports. Walker, 35, is a 6-9 power forward who played with Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher on the Lakers’ 2002 NBA championship team under coach Phil Jackson. Walker was the Dallas Mavericks first round pick in the 1996 draft and suited up for six teams in 10 NBA seasons. Miller, 28, is a 6-2 guard who averaged 20.6 points in Mexico, 29 points in Lebanon, 32.6 points in Saudi Arabia and 35.3 points in Qatar before moving to Al Jalaa.

Al Rayyan is expected to be a serious contender, too, with 6-2 Chauncey Leslie of the University of Iowa and 6-11 Jamaican Kimany Ffriend of the University of Nebraska as coach Brian Rowsom’s imports. Ffriend, 33, has travelled the world to play the game and his stops include Russia, China, Israel, Serbia, Belgium, Korea, France, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Cyprus and Venezuela. Qatar national stalwarts Erfan Ali Saeed, Ali Turki Ali and Yassem Musa form the team’s backbone.

Al Ittihad Jeddah is Gilas’ first opponent tonight but if their practice game last Wednesday is an indication, Saudi Arabia may not be a threat. Gilas whipped Al Ittihad, 99-63, in the exhibition. The Saudis are coached by Nenad Krazdic with 6-3 Darren Kelly of the University of Texas and 6-10 Vladislav Dragajlovic of Serbia as imports. Kelly, 32, led Brown Mackie College of Kansas to the Division II junior college title in 1999, claiming MVP honors with a 21.5 scoring average. He went on to play two years with the Texas varsity. Dragajlovic, 32, is a classic post-up player with stints in Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Montenegro and Serbia.

A surprise is Filipino Ariel Vanguardia will coach Kuala Lumpur whose imports are 6-7 Marcus Morrison of Middle Tennessee and 6-11 Chris Ayer of Loyola Marymount. The Dragons took over the slot of the Thai Slammers who begged off from the tournament.

Gilas will be reinforced by PBA cagers Asi Taulava and Dondon Hontiveros. Two other PBA recruits Kelly Williams and Jimmy Alapag will join Gilas after the Governors Cup. Missing from the Gilas cast for the Champions Cup are Greg Slaughter and Aldrech Ramos, now training for the coming UAAP season. Naturalized player Marcus Douthit of Providence will man the slot for Gilas.