Kazakhstan no pushover for RP 5

Once upon a time, Kazakhstan was the second largest state behind Russia in the Soviet Union.

When the Soviet bloc was dissolved in August 1991, Kazakhstan broke out of the Eastern Europe group and became an independent nation in East Asia. It is located in the mid-central portion of the former Soviet Union, spanning Europe and Asia.

From 1952 to 1988, a slew of Kazaks saw action for the Soviet Union at the Olympics. Among the Kazak stars of that era were weightlifter Anatoly Khrapaty, wrestler Valery Rezantsev, and petite gymnast Nelli Kim.

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Kazakhstan competed as part of the Unified Team, an assembly of 11 allies in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the former Soviet state Georgia.

In 1996, Kazakhstan made its debut as a republic at the Atlanta Olympics and produced three gold medallists–lightheavyweight boxer Vassili Jirov (now the International Boxing Federation cruiserweight titlist), Aleksandr Parygin of modern pentathlon, and Greco-Roman wrestler Yuri Melnichenko.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Kazakhstan also unveiled three gold medallists–featherweight boxer Bekzat Sattarkhanov, lightmiddleweight boxer Yermakhan Ibraimov, and 100-meter hurdler Olga Shishigina.

Kazakhstan’s population is less than 20 million compared to the Philippines’ close to 80 million. Yet, the Philippines has yet to produce a single Olympic gold medallist.

Today, Kazakhstan and the Philippines battle for the bronze medal in basketball at the 14th Asian Games in Busan. Their rivalry in hoops goes back to the 1994 Hiroshima Asiad where Kazakhstan made its first appearance at the quadrennial Games.

In their first ever faceoff, the Philippines beat Kazakhstan, 89-76, in Hiroshima. Kenneth Duremdes is the only player in Busan from the 1994 squad. Two Kazaks–6-4 Mikhail Dedov and 6-1 Yevgeny Ovsyannikov–are back from the Hiroshima team that listed only nine players. The Filipinos opened a 21-point lead at the half and coasted to victory behind Allan Caidic’s 27 points.

At the Bangkok Asian Games in 1998, Kazakhstan proved a tougher nut to crack. The Philippines played the Kazaks twice. First, the Filipinos eked out a 53-52 decision in the preliminaries. Andy Seigle, Dennis Espino, Olsen Racela and Duremdes–who are in Busan–played on that team. For

Kazakhstan, the holdovers in Busan from the 1998 squad are Dedov, Ovsyannikov, and 6-7 Alexei Yeropkin. Dedov tallied 15 points in a losing effort.

Then, the Philippines and Kazakhstan squared off for the bronze in Bangkok. Dedov scored 15 points once again and Ovsyannikov added 10 as the Kazakhs dropped a 73-68 decision to finish fourth. But it was no easy victory for the Filipinos who leaned on Jojo Lastimosa’s late heroics and a timely switch to a zone defense in the fourth period to repulse the Kazaks.

So in three Asian Games encounters, the Philippines has never lost to Kazakhstan although the last two games were close calls.

Kazakhstan has skipped playing in the last two Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships, preferring to compete in the Russian "higher" league or First Division instead.

Kazakhstan’s last ABC participation in 1997 was disastrous as it finished 13th of 15 in Riyadh. The Philippines wound up ninth and defeated the Kazakhs, 84-74, in the quarterfinals. Dong Vergeire coached the Filipinos whose mainstay Danny Ildefonso is in Busan. Kazakhstan was led by Yeropkin and 6-9 Boris Tikhonenko, both in Busan. Yeropkin tallied 24 points against the Philippines that year.

Entering the semifinals in Busan, Kazakhstan averaged 82.4 points in compiling a 3-2 record. The Kazaks lost their first outing to Qatar by a point but made it to the quarterfinals after walloping Chinese-Taipei, 86-75. They beat Hong Kong, 82-77, and North Korea, 89-81, to qualify for the semifinals. Kazakhstan’s 16-point loss to South Korea was hardly embarrassing as the Kazaks hung tough until the final buzzer.

The Kazak cagers are mainly from the BCT Otrar Alma-ata club which plays in the Russian league. Coach Igor Tikhonenko’s squad is a mix of veterans and young upstarts.

Yeropkin, 36, is the oldest in the roster. He’s hardly played in the tournament. The other veterans are Dedov, 32, Ovsyannikov, 32, Tikhonenko, 29, and 6-5 Vitaly Strebkov, 32.

Leading the charge is 6-8 forward Yevgeny Issakov who’s a deadly inside-outside scorer. Also in the cast are 6-9 Sergei Vdovin and 6-8 Fedor Zakharchenko. Issakov, Vdovin, and Zakharchenko form the nucleus of Kazakhstan’s youth brigade–they’re all 20 years old.

Issakov is the Kazaks’ No. 1 offensive option. In the win over Chinese-Taipei, he shot 26 points. Tikhonenko, the Russian "higher" league’s No. 1 rebounder, added 16 points and 17 boards. Against Hong Kong, Issakov fired 25 and Vdovin chipped in 11 plus 10 rebounds. Against North Korea, Issakov erupted for 30 points and hauled down 16 rebounds. Strebkov shot 22, Dedov 16, and Tikhonenko eight with 18 rebounds.

Although Issakov is Kazakhstan’s chief gunner, the team is far from being unidimensional in offense. Dedov, Strebkov, Tikhonenko, Vdovin, and late recruit Aleksandr Yemelyanov are capable of burning the hoops, too. Because of the Kazaks’ size, they like to power for high percentage shots inside the lane and score from offensive rebounds. They can also hit the perimeter shot so the defense can’t just sag out.

Kazakhstan’s bench is somewhat shallow and that’s certainly what Philippine coach Joseph Uichico will exploit. The Filipinos will try to play uptempo and tire out the Kazak starters but to do that, they’ve got to control the boards. Asi Taulava, Eric Menk, and Espino must work double time under the rim to trigger the fastbreak.

After losing to China and South Korea, the Philippines can’t afford to take Kazakhstan lightly. A medal is a medal, no matter the color, and bronze will shine brightly for the Filipinos if they defeat Kazakhstan.