Perlas overcome Malaysians; Sinag buck poor start, sink S’poreans

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines posted an expected win over Singapore, 88-75, at yesterday start of the 27th Southeast Asian Games’ men’s basketball hostilities but not before surviving a huge scare from the upset-conscious Singaporeans at Zahar Thiri Indoor Stadium  in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

The Filipinos, also known as Sinag Pilipinas, found themselves trailing at 13-22 in the first 10 minutes and couldn’t shake off the pesky Singaporeans until the last five minutes of the contest.

“We cannot play that way, na di na maka-score, di pa maka-depensa (we had difficulty on both offensive and defensive ends),” said Jong Uichico, coach of the Phl team Sinag Pilipinas.

“Give credit to Singapore, they’ve improved a lot,” added Uichico. “We also have certain chemistry issues, pero it’s all about mind-set. Hindi p’wedeng isipin nating kayang-kaya ang kalaban. We have to realize na marunong din ang kalaban. Kung ganyan lagi ang iisipin natin baka maisahan tayo (We can’t expect a cakewalk against opponents who also know how to play the game; otherwise, we risk upset).”

The women’s team dubbed Perlas Pilipinas also started its bid on winning note, hacking out 65-59 victory over Malaysia. It was payback time for the Filipinas, who lost to the Malaysians in the Fiba Asia Championship for Women Level II play last October.

Perlas faces defending champion Thailand next.

Mac Belo topscored with 16 points, firing 11 in the second half where the fancied Pinoy cagers finally pulled away from Singapore. The FEU big man also pulled down 10 rebounds as naturalized player Marcus Douthit shot 14 points and 10 boards in a foul-riddled stint. Kevin Ferrer also had 14 markers.

“Won our 1st game but played very poorly by our standards,” assistant coach Josh Reyes wrote on Twitter. “Got to unlearn the PBA D-league type of D coz it gets called as a foul every time. Gave up too many FT’s & Off Rebs.”

Douthit himself was slapped two quick fouls and even drew a technical right in the first quarter, forcing Uichico to sit the slotman out for the rest of the period and half.

Sinag five will seek a more devastating victory today when it battles Cambodia. Like the rest of the field, the Cambodians – 75-60 winners over the hosts last Sunday – are eager to pull the rug from under the Pinoy dribblers.