RP women confident of Seaba hoops gold

MANILA—Even without the Asian Games stint at stake, the Philippine women’s basketball team is shooting for no less than the gold medal when it hosts the Southeast Asian Championships next week.   The RP cagebelles said they are ready to take on the region’s best teams that include defending champion Thailand, SEA Games titlist Malaysia, and perennial contender Indonesia.   “We want to gift the country its first international championship, we have been preparing for this for the past two years,” said national head coach Heidi Ong during the Scoop sa Kamayan recently.   Ong said she is also counting on the crowd support for the event which will be held Oct. 24 to 29 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.   The Philippines, which placed third in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games, will be represented by Melissa Jacob, Ana Pineda and Cassandra Noel Tioseco, Silvia Marie Valencia, Joan Grajales, Aurora Adriano, Merenciana Arayi, Angeli Jo Gloriani, Ma. Ana Fatima Tolentino, Bernadette Mercado, Diana Rose Jose, Maria Lalaine Flormata and Chovi Borja.   The team failed to make it to the Asiad because of a conflict of schedule. The Asiad Guangzhou organizers set the drawing of lots last Oct. 7 while the Seaba,  the Asiad qualifying event, was scheduled only late this month.   “It’s disappointing that we couldn’t go to the Asian Games but there are certain things that are beyond our control. The good thing is that we still have the Seaba, at least we have a venue to prove that we’re deserving of our slot in the Asian Games,” Ong said.   The squad, supported by manager Cynthia Tiu of Discovery Suites, will play against Singapore on opening day.