Smart-RP 5 gains semis in China tilt

GUANGXI, China – Within a span of 14 hours, the Smart-Pilipinas national team beat Brunei and Singapore to advance to the semifinals of the first China-Asean CBO Men’s Invitational Basketball tournament here.

Bannered by 11 members of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas development pool under Serbian coach Rajko Toroman, the RP team routed Brunei, 112-47, Thursday night and then humbled Singapore, 75-64, Friday morning to barge into the crossover semis against Macau Saturday.

Counting its 108-62 win over Vietnam last Wednesday, the national team remained unscathed in Group B of the tourney, matching the 3-0 record of the Chinese team in Group A. The two teams are expected to clash in the title match Sunday, with the winner getting 50,000RNB.

In a text message to the team and Toroman, SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan called the twin victories “tough but well deserved” and expressed his congratulations to the young team.

“If you meet Macao in the semis and China in the finals, you just have to be extra vigilant and work extra hard,” Pangilinan said.

Although playing under extremely cold conditions, the RP 5 toyed with the much shorter and inexperienced Brunei team coached by former PBA player Bennet Palad.

With Fil-Ams Terrel Theophile and Greg Slaughter combining with Dylan Ababou, the RP team took a 33-12 lead in the first quarter and opened up a huge 71-35 lead in the third behind 17 unanswered points. The nationals also displayed tough defense, limiting the hapless Brunei squad to no more than 12 points in each quarter.

Slaughter led the scoring charge against Brunei with 21 points, while Theophile had 20 and Mark Barocca added 17. Slaughter and Theophile also had 11 boards apiece while Barocca had six assists.

The Singaporean team, much taller than the Brunei squad and definitely more experienced, put up a tougher fight but fell by the wayside just the same.

Represented by the runner-up team in the NBL Division 1 league, Singapore kept in step with the RP team with accurate three-point shooting and tenacious defense, even taking a 20-19 lead early in the second quarter.