Indons give RP rude awakening

JAKARTA — Harbour Centre-Philippines came to realize Wednesday night what SM Britama-Indonesia could offer in a preview of their title clash in the SEABA Champions Cup Saturday.

The Nationals got a rude awakening after being beaten by the host team, 74-79, before a good crowd at the Britama Arena here.

Harbour Centre-RP lost the battle but not the war, with the team still a cinch to make it to the final with an expected rout of Vietnam today. The Vietnamese lost their first two games in the tourney by a whopping average losing margin of 80 points.

SM-Britama, meanwhile, still has a tough assignment in Petronas-Malaysia on the final day of the elimination round. A loss by 11 points or more would ease the Indons out of the title match.

"We lost the game alright but there’s a silver lining in this defeat. It’s better that we’re beaten by the Indons now. At least, we now know what they’re capable of doing," said coach Junel Baculi.

"They can’t beat us twice," said import Julius Nwosu, confident they can get back at the hosts in the finale.

Nwosu and Vidal Massiah were outplayed by Ian Crosswhite and Kueth Duany, and the entire Harbour Centre-RP team was outfought by Indonesia with a resolute zone defense and a fluid motion offense.

The Nationals actually took control at the start but faltered in the second quarter and couldn’t get the momentum for a full-blown rally in the final half.

After falling behind by 12, 38-50, the best the Nationals could do was get within one, 52-53.

Still within striking distance at 69-72 with 2:41 left to play, Harbour Centre-RP faded for good as it went without a basket in the next 1:30 of play.

Guard Faisal Julius Achmad rifled in back-to-back triples just as the Philippines threatened at 52-53.

But Crosswhite and Duany proved to be the biggest thorns on Harbour Centre-RP’s bid with the former scattering a game-high 23 points that went with 16 rebounds and four assists and the latter adding 19 points and seven rebounds.

Nwosu was good for only 18 points and 17 rebounds with Massiah, a PBA discard, chipping in only 11 points and later complaining of a bruised knee.

Still, the Nationals put up a good fight, except that they couldn’t break the Indons’ zone defense.