RP quintet tests Italy tonight

MILAN. A sellout crowd is expected as the Selecta Philippine national basketball team faces Italy in its first taste of international competition at the 5,000 seat Palalido Milano here tonight.

Tickets for the game are almost sold out. Philippine-Milan Basketball Association (PMBA) commissioner Mel Lazares said Filipinos in northern Italy are gobbling up the tickets for the rare opportunity to watch the Fighting 15–less Noy Castillo who stayed home to undergo twice-a-day therapy on his right big toe and foot–in action against the newly-formed Italian national squad.

Coach Joseph Uichico said he will suit up 12 players–Jeffrey Cariaso, Kenneth Duremdes, Dennis Espino, Boyet Fernandez, Rudy Hatfield, Dondon Hontiveros, Chris Jackson, Eric Menk, Mick Pennisi, Olsen Racela, Danny Seigle, and Asi Taulava.

Danny Ildefonso and Andy Seigle will not play. Ildefonso is battling pain in the arch of his left foot while Seigle is bothered by back spasms. Team physical therapist Dondi Narciso disclosed that both players are close to full recovery but are being rested to avoid aggravating their injuries.

The Filipinos yesterday welcomed American consultant Paul Howard who flew in from Los Angeles to join Uichico’s coaching staff. The team worked out for over three hours in the morning in its second day of practice. This morning, Uichico has scheduled light drills and a shootaround to prepare for tonight’s contest.

Two games are on the bill. The curtain raiser features the PMBA All-Stars against the Milan All-Italian district champion Opera Basket. The All-Stars include former Presto draft pick Teofano Tiu of Far Eastern University, Joel Villegas of the University of Baguio, Marte Averion of Manuel L. Quezon University, Efren Manalo of San Sebastian College, and Nino Alejandro who was on the farm team of the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) club Pasig Pirates.

Philippine Consul General Milagros Perez will attend the games sponsored by Travelproviders Cargo and Mabuhay Travel, two Milan-based companies. Also watching the games are singer Pops Fernandez and actress Liezl Martinez who are in town to inaugurate ABS-CBN’s latest E-Money Plus remittance centers in northern Italy where there are about 40,000 registered Filipinos.

Travelproviders Cargo and Mabuhay Travel are owned by Evelyn Revilla of Cebu and her Italian husband Germano Bellina. Revilla, a former Pacifica dancer, settled here in 1982 and initially worked as an interpreter. She later married Bellina and they now operate a fleet of 150 trucks, a travel agency, and a vegetable supply company with over 200 employees. Revilla and her daughters Sheila and Stephanie hosted a dinner for the Philippine delegation at the Bellinas’ country home in Bergamo the other night.

Italy is coached by 56-year-old Carlo Recalcati who played on the national team that beat the Philippines, 91-66, at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. The tallest player in Recalcati’s roster is 7-foot, 250-pound Michele Maggioli but Recalcati’s stalwarts are 6-5 Michele Mian and 6-7 Alessandro Tonolli who suited up for the Italian squad that took fifth at the Sydney Olympics. Tipped to provide added firepower are 6-3 Rodolfo Rambaldoni, 6-7 Walter Santarossa, 6-8 Samuele Podesta, and 6-6 Alex Righetti.