RP 5 makes grand exit, routs Laos

SURAT THANI, Thailand – Careline Pilipinas’ crushed Laos by 67 points, 112-45, to make a graceful exit in the Fiba-Asia U18 women’s championship yesterday at the Surat Thani gymnasium here.

The Nationals used their height, speed and experience to their advantage to clobber the lowly Laotians, who learned to play organized basketball only two months ago after Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the Philippine Olympic Committee convinced them weeks before the 25th Southeast Asian Games.

Lore Rivera came out with a spectacular performance, posting a rare triple-double with 27 points, 25 rebounds and 10 steals in 30 minutes of action while skipper Danica Jose and Marie Claire Aseron delivered 20 points apiece for the Filipinas’ encore performance before flying home on Thursday.

Careline Pilipinas failed to advance to the quarterfinals and missed their chance of making it to Level I after losing to India and Thailand, two heavyweight countries in youth basketball, early on.

Also eliminated in Level II are Syria, Sri Lanka and Laos while Kazakhstan and Malaysia are jockeying for position on who will face India and Thailand in the crossover quarterfinals on Tuesday.

“But it’s still a graceful exit for us. The girls showed that they can stand against other countries despite our lack of height and limited resources. I liked what I saw. They gave other countries a good fight,” Careline Pilipinas coach Patrick Aquino said.

Camille Claro, the shifty 14-year old point guard, was also impressive, chipping in 15 points and four steals while Elrica Castro posted 11 in the Filipinas’ farewell performance. 

The taller Filipinas dominated the paint with 69 rebounds while Laos had only 43 pulls. The Laotians also had 44 turnovers which the Nationals converted into 21 points.

“It was a good game. Unfortunately, we won over the latest member of the SEABA (Southeast Asian Basketball Association). But we’ll take it anyway; it’s still a convincing win,” Careline Pilipinas team manager Dioceldo Sy said.

Playing against smaller foes for the first time in this week-long tourney, the Filipinas buckled down to work early and raced to a 19-point lead in the opening period, 26-7.

The Nationals maintained their intensity all game long and finally stretched the lead to 50 in the payoff period, 92-42, as Rivera and Aseron pierced the defense with their fluid running game to seal the victory. Jose and Claro, however, ignited another 20-3 blast to settle the final count.