RP trips Malaysia

HONG KONG – The RP-Burlington team relied on the sterling, all-around game of Rommel Adducul to fashion out a 66-61 win over Malaysia before a predominantly Filipino crowd on Thursday at the start of the 11th Super League Invitational Basketball Championships at the South Orn Stadium, Wanchai here.

The 6-foot-5 Adducul displayed his gamelong brilliance to lead the Nationals with 24 points, six assists and a whopping eight shotblocks, some of them in the crucial closing minutes.

"We played our hearts out because we don’t want to disappoint our thousands of Filipino fans, who came to support us kahit na magbayad sila ng mahal," said Adducul.

The Philippines’ best showing in the Super League was third place in 1990 through the Philips Sardines team of former national coach Joe Lipa.

Inspired by the sight and cheers of Filipino overseas workers, most of whom paid as much as HK$50, the Nationals took the lead all the way to the finish.

"The team is very eager to win its first championship so they are taking every game seriously," said lawyer Bonifacio Alentajan, Basketball Association of the Philippines legal counsel, who accompanied the team here.

Next hurdle for the RP Burlington team, which is coached by Johny Tam, is a tough Hong Kong squad which is reinforced by five Chinese players, who stand no shorter than 6-foot-9.

Hong Kong defeated Malaysia, 82-71, on opening day.