Aoshen first in RP 5’s Vegas sked

It’ll be an early baptism of fire for the Philippine team at the Global Hoops Summit in the Cox Pavilion on the University of Nevada at Las Vegas campus starting tomorrow (Sunday in Manila).

Before boarding the Philippine Airlines flight bound for Las Vegas via Vancouver yesterday afternoon, national coach Chot Reyes said he was informed by organizers the Filipinos are scheduled to play the Aoshen club of Beijing in the 7 p.m. mainer of the Summit’s inaugural five-game bill.

Aside from the Philippines and Aoshen, the other entries in the first-ever Summit are the Nigerian national team, Long Beach Jam, Passing Lane Sports, SFX, BDA Sports, ESM Sports, BCI Edge and BTG Express.

Vegas Summer League director of business development Albert Hall told Reyes the Philippines will play five games in five days. Under the usual summer league format, no championship will be at stake but Reyes said the experience of playing against tough foreign competition is worth the investment in making the trip.

Teams will be ranked according to their win-loss records at the end of the competitions on Wednesday.

Hall said the national teams of South Korea and Qatar pulled out at the last minute, probably to prepare for the Jones Cup where they are confirmed to play in Taipei on July 23-31.

Six players in Reyes’ Las Vegas roster will join six others from San Miguel Beer, Talk ‘N’ Text and possibly Red Bull’s Enrico Villanueva to play in the Jones Cup.

Reyes said he specifically asked Hall to pit the Philippines against teams with Asian and African players in Las Vegas.

"Luckily, the organizers gave in to our request," said Reyes. "We were informed that there are Japanese players in the Long Beach lineup and Chinese in Passing Lane Sports. We’ll also play Nigeria and BDA Sports which is composed of American players."

The Philippines full schedule (US time): Sat., RP vs. Aoshen, 7 p.m. Sun., RP vs. Passing Lane Sports, 3 p.m. Mon., RP vs. BDA Sports, 3 p.m. Tues., RP vs. Long Beach Jam, 5 p.m. Wed., RP vs. Nigeria, 7 p.m.

Reyes, assistant coaches Tim Cone and Aboy Castro, trainer Dennis Aenlle and 12 players flew out yesterday. Assistant coach Binky Favis left earlier and will meet the delegation upon arrival in Las Vegas.

The 12 players are Mike Cortez, Jay-Jay Helterbrand, Ren-Ren Ritualo, James Yap, Tony de la Cruz, Kelly Williams, Rich Alvarez, Kerby Raymundo, Sonny Thoss, Don Allado, Billy Mamaril and Romel Adducul.

A late addition, Dondon Hontiveros, will miss the Philippines’ first two games. He leaves Manila on Saturday.

Reyes said he hopes the Filipino community in Las Vegas will turn out to cheer the national team. "I know a lot of the relatives of our players living in the US will come and watch the games," continued Reyes. "That’ll be great moral support for our players."

Aoshen boasts of youthful Chinese players averaging 6-8 in height. The Beijing team swept a seven-game series against Super Basketball League (SBL) clubs in Taiwan last February. An average of a million viewers witnessed the games on local TV, according to Taiwan statistics.

"It was tough to play them,’ said Tien Lei, Taiwan’s most popular cager. "In the SBL, I am taller than players at the same position but not with Aoshen. I learned a lot from the competition." Another Taiwan star Jian Mingfu added, "It was fresh to play against a strong team. After competing with Aoshen, I think it would be easier to play SBL clubs."

Aoshen made its debut in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) in 1998-99. A key player on the team was Ma Jian. Aoshen was initially coached by Li Xin, a female, but she was fired after five games and replaced by former Los Angeles Laker guard and one-time Philippine Basketball Association import Mike McGee, the first non-Chinese coach in the CBA. Aoshen advanced to the semifinals and finished fourth in its first season.