Filipino dribblers peerless in region

KUALA LUMPUR (Via Globe Telecoms) — The moment the Philippine team gained the green light to play here from the International Basketball Federation, the American head coach of Malaysia, Felton Sealey, thought the fight for the 21st SEA Games gold ended right there, reducing the competition to a battle for the silver medal.

"The Philippines is well ahead in the region. I feel even their amateurs are also far too strong for the rest," Sealey told The STAR in an interview.

A former varsity coach back home in the United States, Sealey, now a long-time fixture in Asian basketball having also handled the Thai team before moving to this country, said his team or any of the other teams in the field needs a miracle to stop the Philippines.

If ever, he believed it would be the Thais that could put up some challenge to the Filipinos.

That match is up for the Philippine team at 8 p.m. tonight at the MABA Stadium. Earlier at 6, the RP women’s team, which opened its campaign with an easy win over Vietnam, faces defending champion Malaysia.

The Nationals will be looking for their third straight win following a 112-74 bashing of the Indons Monday and a 100-40 demolition of the Vietnamese Tuesday. The Thais are practically out of the fight for the gold as they suffered a four-point upset, 77-81, to the Indons also Tuesday.

However, RP coach Boycie Zamar also thought Thailand could be a dangerous foe despite its loss to Indonesia.

"Nasilat ng Indonesia pero tingin ko sila pa rin ang magpapahirap sa atin. Remember their game against the RP Centennial Team. Dikit yung laban sa first half, kinapos lang sila," said Zamar. "In our first game in the last SEABA, dumikit din sila sa atin.

Thinking that the Thais will play a deliberate half-court game while trying to win the game from the outside, Zamar said he’ll counter with a run-and-gun game while calling on Reuben dela Rosa and Eddie Laure to stop Thai aces Soontreeyapas and Pramoch Janthariyom on the other end.

"Ipapaasawa ko na iyung dalawang scorers nila," he said.

But while the men’s team is fancied to nail a third win, the women’s team is expected to have its toughest test against Malaysia.