Team RP begins title hunt against Qatar

Team Philippines plunges into action in the Al-Emadi International basketball tournament today, hoping to come out strong against fancied Qatar and set in motion its bid in the week-long event among four teams at the Gharafa Club gym.

Kerby Raymundo of the newly crowned PBA Philippine Cup champion team Purefoods and Willie Miller of Alaska head the crack Team RP clashing with the national teams of Angola, Latvia and Qatar in one of the many international tournaments lined up for SMC-Team Pilipinas.

A sudden change in schedule actually threw national team coach Chot Reyes’ preparations in disarray as Angola, which Team Pilipinas was supposed to play in yesterday’s opener, failed to arrive on time, thus resetting the RP-Angola match to Friday.

"Aug. 4 is supposed to be a rest day in preparation for the crossover semifinals. But we will now have to play on that day, thus we will now face a semis opponent without the benefit of a rest while the other team would be coming off a one-day break," said Reyes.

Still, the RP team mentor said his wards remain optimistic even as they vowed to find a way to win against the world-class opposition.

Backstopping the squad, whose stint is sponsored by San Miguel Corp., are Larry Fonacier, Niño Canaleta, Billy Mamaril, Rafi Reavis, Dorian Peña, Mick Pennisi, Dennis Miranda and this year’s top PBA Draft prospects Arwind Santos, Joseph Yeo and LA Tenorio.

Team Pilipinas faces Latvia on Thursday and then takes on Angola on Friday. The top team in the elims will meet the No. 4 squad while the second best team battles the No. 3 squad in the crossover semis. The winners clash for the title on Sunday.

"This is a great opportunity for us because we get to play Qatar again, and we all know Qatar is one of the best teams in Asia today," said Reyes. "Then, we get a feel of both African and European basketball in Angola and Latvia. All three are very, very tough opponents, but we can only get better playing teams like these as often as we can."

Qatar placed third in the last FIBA-Asia championships and is staging the tournament as a tuneup for its national team before it participates in the World Basketball Championships to be held in Japan in three weeks.

The team’s average height is 6-31Ú2, two to three inches shorter than their rivals but the Nationals hope to make up for this disadvantage with their speed and hustle.

After the Qatar trip, SMC-Pilipinas will engage FIBA-Asia runner-up Lebanon in a two-game series on Aug. 13 and 16. Two days after, the Nationals will fly to Brunei to defend the Sultan’s Cup crown against some of the best club teams in Asia.