BY NELSON BELTRAN
The Philippine Star
JAKARTA – Harbour Centre-Philippines scored a feel-good win over Vietnam Friday, regaining confidence and swagger in time for the finale of the 2007 SEABA Champions Cup here.
For the Nationals, Saturday’s final game won’t just be for all the marbles but a game for the ages.
That’s the Nationals’ attitude going into the title duel with SM Indonesia-Britama on its home turf at the Britama Arena. The winner would get the crown and the region’s lone slot in the Asian Champions Cup slated in Iran next month.
Coach Junel Baculi and his charges knew very well the importance of winning here with this tournament being the first international stint for a Philippine team since the country’s two-year suspension by the FIBA was lifted last February.
"Our countrymen back home need something to lift their spirits, take their minds off some of their worries. We can give them something if we win it all here," Baculi told his players.
"We can, and we will get the job done," he then told reporters.
Harbour Centre-Philippines served notice of its intentions by swamping Vietnam, 158-36, at the end of the single-round robin eliminations Friday.
The tournament’s most lopsided win, carved through career games of Ryan Arana and JC Intal, sent the Nationals into the finals against the hosts who clobbered Petronas-Malaysia, 95-76, in Friday’s other game.
Arana and Intal figured in a virtual shootout between themselves with the former scoring 38 points and the latter firing 37 in the rout Harbour Centre-RP fashioned out minus injured import Vidal Massiah and Julius Nwosu playing just a few minutes.
RP amateur basketball godfather Mikee Romero, PBL chairman Gil Angeles and a good number of Filipino expatriates witnessed the Nationals’ sterling show against Vietnam.
Romero and Angeles were confident the Nationals would go all the way to win the title although the odds were stacked on the hosts’ favor.
"Give them 40 minutes of hell," Romero told the Nationals on their rematch with the Indons.
The scores:
RP 158 – Arana 38, Intal 37, Rodriguez L. 16, Rodriguez E. 14, Belga 12, Castro 12, Fernandez 11, Magpayo 12, Cruz 4, Nwosu 2.
Vietnam 36 – Ngo 10, Ly 9, Dang 7, Nguyen NK 4, Pham VC 2, Nguyen QD 2, Do 0, Truong 0, Pham DL 0, Luong 0, Huynh 0.
Quarterscores: 34-11, 78-17, 121-23, 158-36
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEABA
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The winner also goes to the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup. Kick some more a$$, Pinoys.
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