RP Youth still unbeaten in SEABA tilt

KUALA LUMPUR – The Nokia RP Youth team is now halfway through to a return stint in the Asian championship.

The RP juniors overcame Thailand’s tough challenge on a strong finish, hacking out a 92-76 win in Day Two of the seventh SEABA men’s junior championship at the MABA gym here Friday night.

Joseph Emmanuel Tolentino, grandson of the late Senator Arturo, and Jaypee Mendoza took turns in starring for the team, sparking decisive assaults leading to their second straight victory following a 98-67 rout of the Malaysians on Thursday.

Tolentino scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth period while Mendoza made 12 of his 14 in a seven-minute stretch bridging the last two quarters.

Fil-Canadian center Norberto Torres and FEU guard Ryan Roose Garcia put in their share early on, both also finishing with 14 as the RP juniors remained the only unbeaten team heading into the halfway point of the five-day regional elimination.

The RP juniors, bankrolled by Nokia and Tao Corp. under president Jun Sy, were to take a break yesterday before returning to action versus Indonesia at 9 p.m. today. Malaysia and Thailand were to figure in a virtual fight for second place last night.

Handled by American coach Felton Sealy, the Thais waged a tough fight in the first three quarters but faded away as the Filipinos stepped up their game in the payoff period.

Coach Franz Pumaren was happy with the win but dissatisfied on the way his players played.

“We’re overconfident. Probably the thinking was that the Thais would just give it to us. We ran away from our system and we woke up only towards the end of the third quarter. We definitely can play better than that,” said Pumaren.

Sealy, a former Phoenix Suns draftee who’s long been coaching in the Southeast Asian region, said his boys played well but lost to a better team in the end.

The Thais, playing a physical game, took the first quarter at 21-20 and were still very much in the contest at 63-66 before Tolentino and Mendoza – both off-the-bench players – presided over an attack pushing the Nokia team way ahead at 92-70.

Mendoza, fresh high school graduate from Tarlac, took charge late in the third when everything was not going well for the team.

“He’s undersized as a forward but he’s a workhorse. He’s one tough kid who never backs down against anybody. He always provides us the spark that’s why I prefer to have him coming off the bench,” said Pumaren of the 6-foot-3 forward with the built of Marc Pingris.

Mendoza went 7-of-8 from the field and added six rebounds in only 11 minutes of action.

Tolentino, an incoming senior at UP Integrated School, also came through with five assists and two steals in a solid all-round job, following his nine-point game against the Malaysians.

Mark Joel De Guzman continued to be the team’s toughest backcourt defender, getting away with six steals that went with nine points. He was unable to finish the game, though, due to cramps.