RP boys reach U-16 quarters

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia – Nokia U-16 Team Pilipinas resumed its winning ways as it nailed a pair of emphatic victories to remain undefeated entering the quarterfinals of the Fiba Asia U-16 Men’s Championship at the Bandaraya Stadium here.

A day after narrowly surviving Japan, the Nationals kept their deadly form, pulling a 76-50 win over Kazakhstan late Friday before essaying a masterful 62-45 conquest of Bahrain yesterday to finish the elimination round on top of Group B with 3-0.

The Philippines faces the loser between Syria and Korea in the opening of the three-game quarterfinal round starting today. Game time is at 6 p.m.

With skipper Kiefer Ravena smothered by the Bahrainis’ leech-like defense all game long, Cris Tolomia stepped up as he poured 13 of his 27 points in the fourth period to practically wrap up the contest after furious exchanges of baskets in the first three quarters.

The younger brother of former Barangay Ginebra swingman, Chester Tolomia, also submitted three rebounds and one steal highlighted by five three-point bombs in a stellar 28-minute of action.

Ravena, who exploded for 25 points against Japan and 23 markers against Kazakhstan, was limited to only eight points, three rebounds and two steals, giving Tolomia and the rest of the bench the green light to shoot in the payoff period.

“They tried to stop Kiefer, but we, especially our bench, were ready for it,” Team Pilipinas coach Eric Altamirano said, noting the 36 points tallied by his bench players compared to Bahrain’s zero. “Our bench players have stepped up. They have been contributing a lot in this tournament.”

After trailing behind by as much as 10 in the first two periods, 13-23, the Nationals finally unraveled the chink in the Bahrainis’ armor, as Ravena and Tolomia uncorked a vicious 10-2 run to seize the lead at halftime, 31-28.

Muhhamed Fadhel and Mansoor Hussain, however, managed to keep Bahrain afloat with their hot shooting in the third period, 37-44, before Tolomia opened the final canto with three consecutive three-point baskets to rip the game wide-open for the Filipinos, 61-43, a little more than three minutes left.

But if Team Pilipinas’ offensive assault was in high gear against Bahrain, it was its relentless defense that spelled the victory over the imposing Kazakhstan.

Marching into the game without a solid scouting report on 6-foot-7 Alexandr Zhigulin, the Filipinos unleashed their sticky full-court trap early on to frustrate Kazakhstan and tossed the temperamental Zhigulin out of the game with six fouls.

Zhigulin’s supporting crew was also unreliable as its defense found no answer to Ravena’s game-long brilliance capped by four steals and three assists.   

“We shut him (Zhigulin) down and took him out of his comfort zone,” Altamirano said. “But a lot of work still has to be done. We know it wouldn’t be easy.”