Lebanon tests 'new' RP five

MANILA, Philippines - Powerade Team Pilipinas steps up its buildup for the FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship in Tianjin, China as it plays contender Lebanon in a closed-door scrimmage today at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center at the Ateneo campus in Quezon City.

The RP team has had four meetings to correct major flaws in its game since it returned from a sixth place finish in the William Jones Cup in Taipei with the Filipino cagers getting the chance to test their modified version against one of the fancied bets in the Aug. 6-16 FIBA World qualifying tournament.

Lebanon beat the Philippines, 95-83, at the Hsinchuang gym two weeks ago, virtually settling the issue with a big 30-19 run in the first quarter.

Fadi El-Khatib, a familiar figure in previous Lebanon visits in the country, had 14 points after scoring 32 and 33 points in their first two games.

Two others took over the offense – Dallas-born, former Louisiana State hotshot Brian Feghali, who drained 5 of 7 three-point shots on the way to 29 points – complementing his 10 rebounds – and naturalized player Jackson Vroman, who added 24 points with five rebounds, four assists and five steals.

The team, coached by the Joe Torre-intense Dragan Raca, will be what the Nationals, who are being drilled extensively in three-point and free throw shooting, will be up against this afternoon.

“It’s our last chance to see what final fine-tuning has to be done,” said national coach Yeng Guiao. “Then, we have two days to make some adjustments.”

Lebanon is tipped to power its way to the quarterfinal round in Tianjin where the RP team hopes to set up another meeting.

But in order to get there, the Nationals will have to beat South Korea and Japan in Group A, and then Taiwan in Group B, a tough task since all three teams beat them in the Jones Cup.

“The expectations, so high before we went to the Jones Cup, are leveling off, I think,” Guiao said during practice. “Nakita kasi ng mga Filipino kung gaano talaga kalalaki at kalalakas ng mga kalaban natin. Nakabawas din yong ng pressure sa ‘ting mga players na mag-deliver.”