RP cagebelles bow to Kazakhs

MEDAN, Indonesia – The Xtreme RP team’s romp came to a halt Friday with the Filipinas narrowly beaten by the Kazakhstan belles, 68-71, in the 19th FIBA Asia under-18 ladies championship at Gor Angsapura here.

The scrappy RP girls engaged their much taller Kazakh rivals in a fierce seesaw battle only to see the breaks go against them at endgame as they missed what could have been an outright playoff shot at promotion to Level I play in this biennial Asian joust divided into two divisions.

With a 3-1 win-loss card, the RP team can still gain a playoff crack at Level I competition in the next edition of the event with a win over host Indonesia in their game set late last night.

“They completely dominated the shaded area. They were just too big for us,” said RP team Raymond Celis.

“Despite our severe height and heft disadvantage, we fought neck and neck with them. We just fell short in the end,” said 5-foot-5 guard Soc Borja, who limited prolific Kazakh scorer Tamara Seregina to 12 points.

“We blew several opportunities to tie or take the lead in the last two minutes of the game. We fought so hard and we could have won,” said sweet-shooting forward Raiza Palmera.

RP delegation head Perry Martinez, however, urged the girls to move on, saying they have to stay focused in their game against Indonesia.

The Kazakhs started with a 9-0 run but it didn’t take long for the Filipinas to catch up. The two teams fought through several deadlocks and lead changes until the Kazakhs enjoyed the breaks at the finish.