Phl Energen ready to face odds in U-16

HO CHI MINH, Vietnam – Despite four key players unable to make the trip, Energen Pilipinas arrived in this Vietnamese capital yesterday with high hopes of a good showing in the second FIBA Asia Under-16 Men’s Championship slated Oct. 18-28 in nearby city of Nha Trang City.

“We lost a starting center, a backup center, a leading scorer and a point guard who can be a starter but I don’t want to dwell on that anymore. We have a team that has been together for a month. We’re here to compete and the team is upbeat,” said Energen coach Olsen Racela.

The team has become smaller minus San Beda’s Arvin Tolentino, Gideon Babilonia and Radge Tongco and La Salle-Greenhills’ Gelo Vito, but Racela believes they can compensate with quickness and good outside shooting. The four were left in Manila as they’ve yet to finish their commitment with their school teams in the NCAA.

“We may be smaller but we have a bigger heart. We showed that in our practice games versus college teams,” said Racela.

“Our plan is to really make good use of our speed and outside shooting. That’s what we’ve been practicing,” he added.

Fil-Aussie Jordan Heading, an athletic 6-1 wingman, is tipped to be the team’s top gun.

“Jordan plays from the wings. That’s the player what we lacked before. He is perfect for us at No. 3. He’s very athletic, and he can dunk with both hands,” said Racela of their prized recruit.

Racela said their goal is to match, if not surpass, the country’s fourth-place finish in the previous edition of the Asian junior boys meet.

“The boys have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to ensure our country will be well represented in the FIBA tournament and continue our campaign to regain supremacy in Asian basketball,” said Energen Pilipinas team manager Jose Lopa.

The other key players are SEABA veterans Henry Asilum of Sacred Heart-Cebu, NU’s Hubert Cani, San Beda’s Rev Diputado, Xavier’s Kyles Lao and Reedley’s Jay Javelosa.

Malayan’s J-Jay Alejandro, Victory’s Nic Dalafu, San Beda’s Andrei Caracut, Ateneo’s Tomas Ramos, NU’s Prince Rivero and Xavier’s Isaac Go complete the cast of the team sponsored by Energen, which is distributed in the country by TriDharma Marketing Corp.

Ateneo’s Earl Murphy and Arellano U’s Daryl Pascual are the reserves.

Members of the coaching staff are Olsen’s brother Nash, Richie Ticzon, BJ Manalo, Eric Gonzales and American fitness coach Dan Rose.

The Filipinos are shoo-in for the second round while bracketed with only two other teams (Indonesia and host Vietnam) in Group D. The three other groups have four teams each slugging it out for three slots in the next round.

Defending champion China is bracketed with India, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei in Group A, Korea with Iraq, Uzbekistan and Lebanon in Group B and Iran with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Japan in Group C.