Merciless Italy humbles RP

MILAN – What was expected to be a close contest turned out to be a blowout as the Italian national basketball team used an unforgiving fullcourt press and impeccable three-point shooting to crush Selecta Philippines, 99-56, in an exhibition game at the Palalido Milano here Sunday night.

Italy got off to a 15-0 start and never looked back in dealing the visitors a rude welcome in their overseas debut. Shifty 6-1 point guard Andrea Pecile, the oldest player in coach Carlo Recalcati’s roster at 31, presided in the massacre as he unloaded a game-high 22 points. Five others scored in double figures for Italy.

The Filipinos had difficulty coping with Italy’s physical defense and were slapped 25 turnovers, compared to the hosts’ 11. Italy shot 11-of-15 triples, hit 63 percent from the floor, and tallied 26-of-44 free throws in an awesome display of firepower. An eye-popping stat was the Italians’ 25 steals, mainly the result of a suffocating trap defense.

Danny Seigle fired 17 points, 11 in the fourth period, to pace the Philippines. Asi Taulava scattered six points in the first quarter but was scoreless the rest of the way. He was whistled for his third foul with 5:08 left in the first half.

Coach Joseph Uichico picked up a technical foul early in the second half as he begged for referees Borroni and Begnis to call it fair. The arbiters, who spoke no English, interpreted Uichico’s appeals to call three seconds on Italy’s big men camping inside the lane and hand-check contact as excessive ranting.

Uichico had no excuses for the loss although he mentioned the use of a bouncier and smaller ball – the standard in the Italian league – threw off the Filipinos’ touch.

"It was a learning experience," said Uichico. "We found out what it’s like to play against bigger players at every position – they were 6-6 across the board. We just can’t dominate using our one-on-one style. We’ve got to work on limiting our turnovers. We tried to get back with good defense in the second half but the point spread was too big. We underestimated them because they brought in young players from the training pool. That’s another lesson for us — we should always respect our opponents. As for the officiating, we’ve just got to get used to it. That’s why we’re here."

Italian team manager Claudio Silvestri said the Filipinos were simply outsized. He was diplomatic. "I expected more from No. 14 (Taulava), he added. "At this stage, China is about 20 points ahead of the Philippines. But it’s not too late to bring the gap closer — it will take a lot of hard work in offense, ball control and defense."

In the curtain raiser, the Philippine-Milan Basketball Association (PMBA) All-Stars overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to beat the Milan district All-Italian titlist Opera Basket, 89-84, behind guest player Allan Caidic’s 32 points. Niño Alejandro chipped in 19 points and Joel Villegas 11 for the All-Stars.

Tonight, the Philippines plays Latvia in the opener of the four-nation, three-day Selecta RP-Euro Basketball Challenge at the Sondrio Sport Hall.