BLUE !DEAS

By Francis Ochoa
Source: Inquirer

TOKUSHIMA, JAPAN — Faced with a must-win situation against a team it had not beaten in 22 years and falling behind by 13 points midway through the third period, it was easy to pronounce the Philippine Olympic cage bid officially dead.

But Jimmy Alapag and a band of heroes emerged from a desperate situation and sparked a team running on nothing but heart as San Miguel-RP came from behind for a stirring 79-74 victory over China Sunday to keep its Beijing dreams afloat in the FIBA-Asia men’s basketball championship at the Asty Tokushima.

It was the first victory for a Philippine squad against China since 1985 when Ron Jacobs engineered the fall of the Great Wall to give RP its last title in what was then known as the ABC tournament.

“We played 40 minutes of pure heart,” said National coach Chot Reyes. “No matter how many points we were down by, we never gave up hope.”

Mark Caguioa, who struggled in the worst way a star player could struggle in a crucial defeat to Iran, looked headed for a repeat performance three-and-a-half quarters into Sunday’s survival match before hitting big baskets down the stretch, including a layup in the last 8.6 ticks that gave the Filipinos a 77-74 edge.

Kelly Williams then capped the comeback with a steal as China tried to set gunner Chen Cen up for a tying triple.

“This team can be down by five, 11 or 20 and it will never stop fighting,” Reyes added.

Alapag personified the spirit that came to fore when no amount of coaching or any other technical basketball stuff could help solve the way China was slowly pulling the plugs off the life-support system that was keeping the Filipinos’ quarterfinal bid alive.

With time winding down in the third quarter, Alapag, who kept San Miguel-RP within striking deficit when China tried to rip the game wide open in the first half, quarterbacked the Nationals to within a point from 13 down entering the fourth period.

And when the final quarter came, San Miguel-RP played like a team hell-bent on accomplishing a mission, finding heroes from all over the court to wrest control of the game.

Jayjay Helterbrand, who briefly spelled Alapag early in the last quarter, gave the Philippines its first taste of the lead at 58-57 on a running jumper. When San Miguel-RP fell behind by two, Kerby Raymundo knocked in six points as the Philippines took the lead for good, 68-62, 5:24 remaining.

“The Philippine team showed a lot more experience in handling the crucial moments of the game,” said Chinese coach Adiljian, through an interpreter.

“Our young players played well but the Philippines simply played better,” added the ringleader of a vaunted mean red machine in the late ’80s and early ’90s that started China’s domination of the Asian basketball scene and shredded many a Philippine national team.

There were still some tense moments in the stretch.

Bian Qang hit a triple to move China to within a point, 68-67, but Alapag, who wound up leading San Miguel-RP with 25 points, responded with a pressure-heavy trey that restored a four-point cushion. With 18 ticks remaining, Chen hit a triple that moved the Chinese to within a point again, but that was when Caguioa drove in to ice the game.

“We played for honor and respect and for the people back home who have pinned their hopes on us,” said Reyes, whose wards can virtually seal a quarterfinal seat when it takes on powerhouse Jordan Monday at 6 p.m.

Jordan was playing Iran at presstime.

China was virtually knocked out of contention for a quarterfinal slot after absorbing its second loss in as many games.

The scores:

SAN MIGUEL-RP 79 — Alapag 25, Caguioa 16, Raymundo 12, Williams 11, Hontiveros 7, Taulava 4, Helterbrand 4, Pennisi 0, Norwood 0.

CHINA 74 — Yi 14, B. Wang 14, Li 13, Bian 10, Zhang 9, Chen 6, Yang 3, Han 3, Y. Wang 2.

Quarters: 19-25, 38-49, 56-57, 79-74