RP team dumps Sri Lanka by 84 points in FIBA Asia tourney
August 6, 2009 9:21 am
TIANJIN, China, Aug. 6 — Jared Dillinger unloaded 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Thursday to highlight Powerade-Team Pilipinas’ complete dominance of Sri Lanka, 115-31, kicking off the 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship at the Tianjin gym.
Dillinger went 10 of 15 from the floor, Arwind Santos had 16, and Asi Taulava (13 rebounds), Cyrus Baguio and Japeth Aguilar (11 rebounds) 15 points each.
As anticipated, the Middle Asian team from the cricket-loving nation had nothing to thwart the squad from the country where basketball stars are worshipped like minor deities.
Aguilar came up with a three-point play early to open the floodgates.
It was 18-4 after two Aguilar jams and 44-17 at halftime, with no RP player breaking a sweat against their overmatched Middle Asian opponents.
The Philippines wrapped up the mismatch with a 23-0 run.
Even national coach Yeng Guiao admitted the game was not fought on a level playing field.
“Basketball is still at the developmental stage in Sri Lanka. If these were cricket, they would have beaten us badly,” said national coach Yeng Guiao, drawing a smile from his counterpart Ajith Kuruppu.
No Sri Lankan player had more than eight points and they were trounced in every department, especially under the boards (63-21), but they came away knowing they had their shining, if short-lived, moments.
Still, the Sri Lankans managed to expose old habits of the RP players.
Against a smaller rival, the Nationals picked up two quick fouls with 60 seconds barely gone by and collected a third halfway through the first quarter.
They also missed 13 triples, shot just 63 percent from the foul line (15 of 27) – while handing the Sri Lankans 23 free throws – and committed 14 turnovers against a team made up mostly of soccer and cricket players.
“We have very few indoor courts, and 90 percent of the time we play outside,” said Ignatius Canegaretnam, vice president of the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation and member of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Central Board.
“That’s one of the reasons we play here. Of course, the main reason is to make basketball catch up with cricket and soccer in Sri Lanka,” he added. “We’re also preparing for the South Asian Federation Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh in January.”
Up next is the battle against Japan at 9 p.m. Friday.
The Nationals seek redemption for a blown 19-point lead against the Far Eastern team in the William Jones Cup tournament last month and a spot in the Group A vs. Group B elimination starting Sunday.
“A good start for us in preparation for Japan and Korea. Now come the real tests,” said Guiao, who underscored the importance of the ensuing 48 hours by scheduling two practice sessions – one Thursday afternoon after the Japan-Korea match, which was ongoing at press time, and another Friday morning.
Japan clawed back from the double-digit deficit to win, 87-85, and back from that squad are center Kosuke Takeuchi (24 points, 8 rebounds), guard Shinsuke Kashiwagi (12 points) and veteran Takehiko Orimo.
Six-foot-nine Joji Takeuchi, who was absent in the Jones Cup, will beef up the team and join his brother in the Japanese frontline, which, even back then, outrebounded the RP team, 33-31, and helped forced the Nationals to shoot from afar where they missed 15 three-point shots.
With the new FIBA Asia format, the Philippines needs to bring a 3-0 record to the next phase of the preliminaries – against Iran, Taiwan and probably Uzbekistan – to be in pole position for the crucial drive to the quarterfinals.
Scores:
RP 115 – Dillinger 21, Santos 16, Taulava 15, Aguilar 15, Baguio 15, Thoss 11, Norwood 8, Miller 5, Helterbrand 5, Raymundo 4, Pennisi 0.
SRI LANKA 31 – Rajapakshe 8, Fernando 8, Danawansa 7, Senanayake 4, De Silva 2, Perera 2, Kolamba 0, Abesekara 0, Kulathunga 0, Serasinghe 0, Sooroyaarachchi 0.
Quarters: 28-9; 44-17; 86-26; 115-31. (PNA) DCT/jfm/PR/mec
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