ON the day that 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz Oly weightlifter gifted the Philippines with its first gold medal in the ongoing 18th Asian Games in Jakarta/Palembang, Indonesia, our “Token Team” in men’s basketball put together a gutsy performance before going down to a heartbreaking 82-80 defeat to mighty champion People’s Republic of China.
Our “Token Team,” a hodgepodge of a team that was much-maligned by the national basketball leadership so much so it even wanted to skip the event before being prevailed upon by a presidential executive to reconsider its decision, only had nine days of preparation but nearly pulled off an upset the Mainland Chinese.
That all-time Chinese cage great Yao Ming, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame who is now the president of the professional Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league, sports worried looks throughout the 40-minute contest, more so in the final two minutes when the Filipinos, mostly from the Rain or Shine squad sprinkled with players from the other Philippine Basketball Association, overcame a 12-point deficit in the first half and seized an 80-77 edge – the team’s first taste of the lead since a 5-0 getaway – with less than two minutes remaining on an undergoal stab by pint-sized but lion-hearted guard Stanley Pringle off a mountain of a man in 7-2 Henan-born Zhou Qi, a seldom-used reserve with the Houston Rockets who is entering his second season in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Chinese, however, dodged a bullet with a 5-0 run to end the game. Down 82-80 following a pair of free throws by the 22-year-old Qi, Paul Lee, who had earlier deadlocked the count at 74-all on a triple from way beyond the arc, hastily misfired on a three-pointer with four seconds remaining that could have handed the Filipinos the victory.
Our boys trailed by five, 36-31, at intermission despite the dozen points (5-15 FGA, 1-7 3FGA, 1-3 FTA) of Cleveland Cavaliers backcourter Jordan Clarkson, who was making his Philippine national team debut. Qi paced the Chinese with 17 markers, including four triples, and blocked six enemy missiles.
Clarkson was sensational in the third quarter when the Philippines came within two points, 59-57, after three quarters, collecting 16 points and going 4-for-5 from the three-point area during the 10-minute canto.
Two free throws by naturalized center Christian Standhardinger gave the Filipinos a 76-74 lead, their first since a 5-0 start.
A 6-foot-8, 29-year Filipino-German who first saw the light of day in Munich, Standhardinger was a demon around the paint, courageously pounding the inside time and again despite the presence of Twin Towers Qi and Wang Zhelin, a 7-foot, 24-year-old mastodon from the province of Fujian.
I will pick him over ex-journeyman center Andray Blatche any time as our naturalized player. What so great about the latter, a big man who keeps shooting from the parking lot – despite his bulky frame – threatened to quit if coach Tab Baldwin was still X-ing and O-ing for the national team and comes to the country on his own sweet time for training.
My salute to the players and the coaching staff led by Yeng Guiao. Guiao has been appointed the interim head coach for the Philippine team in the fourth leg (two games) of the World Cup qualifiers. But frankly, he deserves to be the permanent head coach of the seniors’ national team.
For the numbers against China, Clarkson topped the Filipinos with 28 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Standhardinger chipped in 18 points and eight boards and Pringle added 14 scores.
Qi paced the Chinese with 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks.
Despite the loss, the Philippines will qualify for the second round (knockout quarterfinals) as it routed Kazakhstan, 96-59, in its opener to finish the three-team Group D of the four-group, 15-team preliminary phase with a 1-1 record.
The Chinese (1-0) will take on Kazakhstan (0-1) on Thursday, August 23, seeking for the group leadership.
The Philippines will likely play defending gold medalist South Korea in the quarterfinals on Monday, August 27. The Koreans, who edged the Islamic Republic of Iran, 79-77, in the finals four years ago in Incheon, Korea, lead Group A with a 2-0 record and clashed with Thailand (1-1) in its final prelims assignment last night. Indonesia (1-1), which beat the Thais, 98-86, sought a quarterfinal berth against Mongolia (0-2) last night.
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