Coach Aric del Rosario set a winning-margin of 30 points against Indons only to find the Nationals going through some anxious moments before pulling through in their penultimate game at the Military Zone 7 Gymnasium.
"Ibig sabihin lang nito talagang walang sigurohan ang laban. Kailangan kumayad ng husto," said Del Rosario after the tough grind.
The Nationals fell behind by as many as 12 points, 10-22, in the opening quarter, trailed by three, 34-37, at halftime and finally took the lead only at 44-42 midway through the third quarter.
And when they had appeared headed for a breakaway after erecting a 66-46 advantage, the Nationals ran into a maze of errors, blew offensive thrusts and committed defensive lapses, enabling the Indons to close in at the finish.
But it was evident the team missed the services of injured guards Dennis Madrid and Richard Melencio. The Nationals committed several turnovers in the fourth quarter as coach Del Rosario rested his lone point guard in Celino Cruz.
The Nationals had 21 errors as against the Indons‚ 15.
Flashing the shooting prowess of their Filipino coach Bong Ramos during his heyday in the old PABL, Indon guard Mario Wuysang rifled in clutch three-pointers that brought the team back into the game, 65-70.
But the Filipinos won’t be denied the win.
Now, only Malaysia separates the Philippines from its highly expected seventh straight title romp in the biennial conclave.
The Malaysians have yet to lose, too, in the tourney. They were tipped to beat Thailand later in the night to set up a virtual one-game title playoff with the Filipinos tomorrow.