RP cagers lose to Latvia but coach satisfied

SMC-Pilipinas absorbed its second straight setback in the Al-Emadi International Basketball Championship, bowing to Latvia, 65-73, Thursday night at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Hall in Doha, Qatar.

Unlike in their 58-77 loss to Qatar Wednesday, however, RP team coach Chot Reyes said he was satisfied with the way his wards battled the taller and heftier Latvians on both ends of the floor.

"I’m very, very happy and very proud of the guys. They did a great, great job out there," Reyes said. "We were getting our shots and not turning the ball over and that’s what we wanted."

The victory gave Latvia an unblemished 3-0 card and top seeding in the semifinals of this four-nation tourney. SMC-Pilipinas, for its part, fell to 0-2 and will try to finish the elims with a victory over Angola Friday night.

The crossover semis will pit the No. 1 team against the last placed squad with the Nos. 2 and 3 teams clashing for the other final berth.

Like in their opening game against Qatar, the Filipinos, whose stint is sponsored by San Miguel Corp. and backed by Accel, got off to a good start behind Arwind Santos and Kerby Raymundo, who powered the team to an 18-14 lead after the first quarter.

But the Latvians found their rhythm late in the second period, unloading an 8-0 run in the last minute to grab a 42-33 lead at the half.

Kristaps Valters presided over another big Latvia attack in the third to make it 54-37. But just as the Latvians thought they had heard the last of the Filipinos, SMC-Pilipinas fought back behind Larry Fonacier, Willie Miller and Joseph Yeo.

The troika combined in a big RP counterattack that had the Nationals bouncing back to within, 56-60, early in the final period.

SMC-Pilipinas then traded baskets with Latvia to keep it close but clutch baskets by big man Uvis Helmanis kept the Filipinos at bay in the closing minutes.

"We’re definitely achieving our goals," Reyes said. "For both the players and coaches, this is the kind of teams we really want to play. And for the players, they can only get better playing teams like Latvia.

"Also, we’re actually using this tournament as some sort of a tryout to see kung sino talaga ang puwede just in case the FIBA suspension is lifted," he aadded

All of the people we’ve talked to here are saying it’s already lifted, so we might as well be ready for that eventuality."

Truly, after that disappointing loss to Qatar, the gutsy stand put up by the Filipinos against Latvia was certainly a big boost.

"We were a lot better today than we were last night against Qatar. The challenge is how we can still be better in our next game," said Reyes.