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Philippines, 25 Nov 2024 |
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PAUL LEE?S ENDGAME HEROICS SEALS 3RD PLACE FINISH FOR THE PHILIPPINES IN FIBA ASIA CUP By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 20 Jul 2014  Paul Lee?s endgame heroics when he went for a three-point shot while double-teamed, earned a foul and coolly sank all three free throws despite the efforts of Chinese fans to unsettle him, to give the Philippines a bronze medal finish with no time left on the clock in the 5th FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan has continued to draw praise from coach Chot Reyes and win the admiration of his teammates. The final score was 80-79. After the game in response to our remarks that with another fine showing the Rain Or Shine guard should have effectively clinched a place on the Philippine team to the World Cup in Spain at the end of August, Reyes said ?he showed that he belongs.? While Lee was the hero, it was a fine all-round effort that sealed the win in a tournament where Iran once again emerged champions beating Chinese-Taipei, a team that Gilas Pilipinas beat in their opening game, 89-79. Demonstrating its trademark fighting spirit and all heart, the Filipinos came back from a nine point deficit in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter to tie the count at 77-77 with under one minute left to play. After two free throws by China?s shooting star Kelanbaike Makan put the hosts ahead 79-77, Wang Zirui missed two free throws that could have clinched the game but after Douthit collared the rebound with six seconds to go LA Tenorio quickly fired a pass to Lee who was ganged up on and fouled as he prepared to launch a three-point attempt. The rest is history as Lee showed he had ice in his veins and calmly sank all three free throws as his teammates raced onto the court and embraced him. Five of the Gilas Pilipinas players scored in double figures led by de Ocampo who finished with 18 points behind three out of three attempts from beyond the arc and 7 boards while center Marcus Douthit once again proved his worth with 10 points and 22 big rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Lanky Japeth Aguilar in his best game of the tournament finished with 14 points while Tenorio had 12 including one patented teardrop shot while big Beau Belga contributed 10 points. The Philippines showing must be taken in the light of the fact that the Philippines didn?t bring its best team with players such as Jeff Chan, Jason Castro, Larry Fonacier and Jimmy Alapag left behind and as coach Reyes pointed out ?while we came here to learn, there was quite a bit of unlearning to do.? The endgame foul called on de Ocampo would never have been called in the PBA where players are often allowed to bludgeon their opponents. Reyes noted that our opponents play strictly according to Fiba rules all year round while the Philippines does not, which many basketball fans cannot understand. China, behind an 11-0 run opened up a 24-15 lead at the end of the first quarter but the Filipinos quickly rattled off eight straight points which included two triples by de Ocampo and Garvo Lanete. Belga found the range and scored the next 10 points by Gilas but China came back just as quickly with an 11-5 run to go into the dugout at the half, up by six, 44-38. The Philippines started off badly in the final quarter allowing China to score the first 10 points for a 70-62 lead following a basket by Aguilar. A triple by Gu Quan with just over four minutes to play gave China a 75-66 spread before LA Tenorio scored and de Ocampo buried his third triple to bring the Filipinos to within four points at 75-71. Lee made one of two free throws and Aguilar then completed a three-point play off a Lee assist before Tenorio split the middle to score to tie the game at 77-77. In a game report FIBA Asia noted that the result also ended the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup-bound Philippines their jinx in the bronze medal games ? Philippines had lost to Qatar in exactly the same stage of the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup at Beirut (Lebanon) in 2010 as well as the 4th FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo (Japan) two years ago. Kelanbaike Makan turned from hero to villain for the handful, but vociferous, crowd at the Wuhan SC ? his rather obvious foul on an advancing Dalistan ? taking the Filipino to the foul-stripe. The Rain or Shine guard proved too skilled and sharp to look the gift horse in its mouth. Makan had only less than a minute earlier scored twin free-throws to cap a game-high 23 points coming off an impressive 7/12 clip in field shooting and certainly was the most conspicuous Chinese player. But unfortunately, for not so good news as well. Philippines? highest scorer Ranidel De Ocampo, who had 18 points, too almost did a similar damage to his team. ?But we managed to survive that. There luck played a huge part,? Philippines coach Chot Reyes drew attention to Wang Zirui failed to cement China?s position in the game missing on both his free-throw attempts ? following a Ranidel De Ocampo foul ? with the home team ahead 79-77 and about half a minute left on the clock. ?We made our own luck after that. The free-throws were certainly a great show of skill as well as temperament,? he added. ?We came in using this event as a platform to launch our preparations for the World Cup, but I?m certainly not complaining about the bronze medal,? Reyes said. ?This game was more about heart rather than talent,? Dalistan said. ?It looked like we got lucky in the end, but we gave our heart before that,? he said. ?I think he learnt his lesson,? China coach Wang Huaiyu pointed to Makan?s foul. ?This is a very young team. I don?t think we lacked in anything except experience. Give us time and we?ll get there,? he said. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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