RP Team A toys with Iran; Chot unhappy

The Philippine training team still has plenty of work to do and a long way to go.

Coach Chot Reyes made this prognosis as half of his pool made their first public appearance last night, mauling a youthful Iran team, 79-60, in the first game of a Philippine-Iran dual meet at the Araneta Coliseum.

The San Mig Café-RP Team A, bannered by Danny Seigle, Willy Miller and new recruit Kelly Williams, took the best the Iranians could offer, proving much better against the visiting squad composed mostly of Iran’s players in last year’s under-20 and under-18 Asian championships.

But Reyes himself admitted the RP team aspirants didn’t have much to crow about on their one-sided win over the Iranians.

In the first place, conspicuously absent on the Iranian roster was 18-year-old 7-foot-5 starting center Jaber Rouzbahani — key member of the Iranian squads that ruled the 2004 under-20 and under-18 Asian jousts.

Six-foot-10 forward-center Ali Doraghi, meanwhile, sat out precious minutes after he was accidentally hit on the face by Miller in the second quarter.

Nonetheless, the Iranians, with an average age of 21 and average height of six feet and four inches, showed a big fighting heart, playing with a lot of spunk while being cheered on by some flag-waving Iranian expats on the gallery.

But they couldn’t offer much against the seasoned Filipino pros.

"Make no mistake about it. We’re just taking baby steps. Hopefully, we’re taking baby steps in the right direction," said Reyes. "We’re not in a hurry. We’re in a pretty long race."

The San Mig Café-RP Team B, bannered by Eric Menk, Nic Belasco and Jimmy Alapag, has its own date against the Iranians at 7 p.m. today in the same venue.

Menk and company were behind the RP Team A bench as Williams, Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros and Yancy de Ocampo took turns in leading the RP juggernaut against the Iranians.

Williams, a Fil-Am recruit of Reyes from the University of Oakland in Detroit, was impressive in his first outing in local basketball scene, leading the team with 15 points and nine rebounds, coming off the bench.

"He’s an energy player. His main value is his ability to come off the bench and energize the team while crashing the boards here and there," said Reyes of Williams.

Asked whether he feels he can make the team, the US NCAA Division I veteran said: "I can always improve in practice. If I can continue to improve and adjust, I can have a good chance."

The Nationals took a double-digit spread, 23-11, right at the end of the first period with Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros, Miller and Raymundo working on a 12-2 closing run.

Renren Ritualo and Williams took over in the second quarter, firing two triples each, and the RP Team A stretched its lead to 22, 49-27, with two minutes to go in the first half.

The Nationals, however, went scoreless in the last 1:46, allowing the Iranians to narrow the gap to 35-51 at the turn.

NOTES: Coach Reyes plans to keep the enemies guessing and will wait until the 11th hour before making the final composition of the RP team. Reyes bared this, adding he will keep shuffling his lineups in international competitions they are entered in before their ultimate target which is the FIBA Asian men’s championship in September. "There’s no use giving our opponents a lending hand," said Reyes. "We know our opponents are watching our every move, so there will always be constant changes in our national team."