Aussies to test Selecta-RP five

The Melbourne Tigers, one of the most dominant teams in the Australian league, have accepted the invitation of the Philippine Basketball Association to play a pair of tune-up games with the RP-Selecta team gearing up for the Busan Asian Games next month.

Melbourne Tigers head coach Lindsay Gaze yesterday confirmed his team’s willingness to play the Filipinos in the tune-up games tentatively set Aug. 29 and 31. The encounter will take place a week after a similar visit by the Chinese-Taipei national squad.

Details of the Tigers’ visit will be finalized in the next few days. The Chinese-Taipei squad will meet RP-Selecta on Aug. 20 at the Araneta Coliseum and on Aug. 22 at the Yñares Center in Antipolo, Rizal.

"We’re elated with the Melbourne Tigers’ acceptance of our invitation," said PBA commissioner Jun Bernardino. "Their stint here will go a long way in our bid to toughen up the Philippine national team for its forthcoming stint in Busan."

The series against the Tigers is expected to address the Nationals’ need for a bigger exposure to the international brand of play, more so since Australia has for so long established itself as among the best teams in the world.

Australia’s National Basketball League is also regarded as one of the toughest in the world, regularly churning out players good enough to make it to the NBA.

Melbourne is among the prominent teams in the Australian league, having won the championship in 1983 and 1997.

"We are pleased to help in your team’s preparation for the Asian Games," said Gaze in a letter sent to the PBA.

Although the Tigers’ lineup has yet to be finalized, expected to come over are Australian league MVP Mark Bradtke, former PBA imports Marcus Timmons and Lanard Copeland and 6-foot-6 Andrew Gaze, a product of the Seton Hall in the US NCAA who was a member of the San Antonio Spurs team that won the NBA title in 1999.

"We’re looking forward to the stint against the Melbourne Tigers. I’m sure we’ll come out of that experience a better team," said RP team head coach Jong Uichico.

Meanwhile, the race for the last three semis slots continues today with Sta. Lucia Realty and Alaska Milk enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage over their respective quarterfinal opponents in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Yñares Center.

Sta. Lucia, winner of last year’s Governor’s Cup, takes on Talk N Text at 3:45 p.m. while Alaska, runner-up to Purefoods in the previous conference, goes up against FedEx at 5:45 p.m.

Defending champion and elimination round topnotcher Red Bull was the first to nail a semis berth in the import-spiced tournament by ousting Shell last Tuesday while Coca-Cola lived to fight another day with a victory over San Miguel Beer last Thursday.

Red Bull (7-3), Sta. Lucia (7-3), Alaska (6-4) and San Miguel (6-4) emerged as the top four teams after the elims, therefore needing to win only once in the quarterfinals to reach the best-of-five semis where the Thunder will face the winner between the Tigers and the Beermen.