PH nails 16th cage title
NAYPYITAW—A Sinag Pilipinas five that showed ruthless form after a scrambling start sealed its date with destiny Sunday by bagging the country’s 16th men’s basketball title in the Southeast Asian Games in style.
The PH five capped its six-game sweep with an 84-56 drubbing of Malaysia at Zayar Thiri Indoor Stadium here.
The fanfare and attention of the win failed to match the impact of Gilas Pilipinas’ feat early in the year in the Fiba Asia Championship, but Sinag lived up to the pressure of helping lift the spirits of the sagging Philippine campaign here.
The road to retaining the cage crown started with a hard 88-75 victory over Singapore.
They were hardly troubled from there, coasting to convincing wins over Cambodia, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia and finally, Malaysia, to underline the country’s mastery of the event in the region.
Not since 1989 has a men’s basketball gold slipped from the country’s grasp.
“All the teams are getting better, but I’m happy that the team accomplished its mission,” said coach Jong Uichico, who was given a couple of months to whip the team of collegiate stars reinforced by naturalized player Marcus Douthit into one cohesive unit.
The game had little bearing with Sinag already clinching the gold Saturday when Malaysia lost to eventual silver medalist Thailand. Still, Sinag refused to pull punches with Bobby Ray Parks collecting 18 points, and Kevin Alas finishing with 13.
Douthit capped another tour of duty with the country with a six-point, seven-rebound and four-assist outing, while Ateneo standout Kiefer Ravena had eight points and six assists.
Meanwhile, Perlas Pilipinas stayed on track of securing a second straight silver medal after a 55-43 triumph over Indonesia.
The PH cagebelles, who face winless Burma Monday, improved to 2-1 with their only loss coming against Thailand, which is expected to clinch the gold.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 84—Parks 18, Alas 13, J. Pascual 8, Ravena 8, Sumang 6, Douthit 6, Lanete 6, Ferrer 5, Cruz 5, Belo 4, R. Pascual 3, Ganuelas 2.
MALAYSIA 56—Ong 11, Choo 10, Kuek 10, Koh 9, Wong 4, Ooi 4, Loh 3, Ng 3, Kwaan 2.
Quarters: 21-15, 43-34, 68-49, 84-56
