“REALLY GOOD KID”: GARVO Lanete (right) in file photo. August dela Cruz
TAIPEI—Part of Garvo Lanete’s duties with the Smart Gilas-Pilipinas team for being a rookie was to take the dirty playing uniforms to the laundry.
On Sunday afternoon, Lanete, the only homegrown amateur in the squad filled with millionaire PBA superstars, also ‘cleaned’ the game up after the team’s more established personnel set the tone for a runaway second straight Philippine win in the 34th William Jones Cup.
Lanete, who won four NCAA titles with San Beda, scored 10 points in the second quarter and finished with a team-high 21 as the Filipinos roared to an emphatic 99-68 conquest of Taipei-B before a rowdy hometown crowd at the Taipei PE College gym here.
“He’s still tired after taking care of the laundry last (Saturday) night,” coach Chot Reyes told Filipino scribes in the native tongue before proceeding with the winning coach’s interview with international media.
“That kid is really good and has a big fighting heart,” he said of Lanete, who took care of the dirty uniforms Saturday night together with fellow PH team rookies Jay-R Reyes and Fil-Am Matt Rossen.
“That’s part of being a rookie in any team,” Reyes said with a smile. “But today, he gave us the big spark that we needed.”
Lanete’s 21 points were the most scored by any Filipino thus far in the nine-country, 10-team event, and he led four others in twin digits against the young Taiwanese, whom Team Philippines held to just 32 first half points.
Taipei-B took a second straight loss that became a foregone conclusion when coach Chou Chun-san elected to bench four regulars for missing the morning practice.
Larry Fonacier and Sonny Thoss tossed in 12 points each and LA Tenorio and Marcus Douthit accounted for 11 apiece.
Hsuan Sung-yu, a prodigious guard ready for greater duties with the Taiwanese national team, led Taipei-B with 22 points.
The Filipinos take their only breather in the 10-day event on Monday, getting the time they need to prepare for Korea Tuesday in what is expected to be a tough match with the Koreans also staying undefeated after two outings.
Juan Pattillo, the former import prospect of Meralco in the PBA, scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds, and fellow import Garrett Stutz had 16 that went with eight boards to lead Korea to a 94-78 shellacking of Lebanon.
The loss was the second straight for the Lebanese, who came to this tournament without naturalized center Jackson Vroman.
Jarrid Jerome Famous, also a former Meralco import and now a naturalized Lebanese, led his squad with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
The scores:
SMART GILAS-PILIPINAS 99—Lanete 21, Fonacier 12, Thoss 12, Tenorio 11, Douthit 11, Chan 7, David 7, De Ocampo 6, Reyes 4, Baracael 3, Mercado 1.
TAIPEI-B 68—Sung 22, Chou 17, Lo 10, Lin 9, Lung 8, Chen 2, Chung 0, Peng 0, Hung 0, Chen 0, Liu 0.
Quarters: 28-18, 53-32, 75-49, 99-68