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manila invitational

RP-SMC plays Lebanon today

By Julius Manicad

07/12/2007

The Philippine cage team, still very much fresh from a stint in Jones Cup, plunges into action today in the four-nation Manila Invitational Championship serving as the Nationals’ final build-up before they fly to Japan for the tough Fiba (International Basketball Federation)-Asia Championship.

The Nationals, playing for the first and last time before local audience, face Lebanon in the main game at 7:30 p.m. at The Arena in San Juan, in one of the preview games of what can be expected in Tokushima, Japan tournament set July 28 to August 5.

The brief, yet tough tournament set in three days will also see the Nationals going up against China on July 13, and Syria on July 14, and hopefully the RP team, coached by Chot Reyes, gets in tough shape before the Fiba tournament, where the Olympic qualifier will be known.

The Nationals won five of their eight outings in Jones Cup, to end up third yet, Reyes as well as the coaching staff, wasn’t happy altogether with the way the Nationals ended their campaign in the nine-team tournament.

The Nationals for the last three stagings of the Jones Cup ended on the losing note, as they dropped their last game against Kazakhstan — the same team that continued their mastery of the RP team since the 2002 Busan Games. And that should be enough for Reys and the whole coaching staff to demand more of the Nationals.

“The Jones Cup is part of our evaluation and so it (evaluation) is not yet over because everything is still a work in progress,” Reyes said in a press briefing a day before marching back to the war zone for the Manila Invitational.

“We will try to be competitive and battle it out because we are considered as greenhorn after our suspension from the international play,” added Reyes, not knowing perhaps that a more strict measure will be put in motion on the Nationals.

That they lost to the Kazakhs left the coaching staff in the Jones Cup wondering, forcing them to sit down and discuss what went wrong on them in their final game in the Jones Cup.

One player failed to suit up because he failed to show in the morning practice, although everybody believed no one among the Nationals came out the night before their game against Kazakstan. Still others are of the opinion that the players somehow gave in to the taxing schedule of having to play eight straight games.

Whatever, the Nationals will not be allowed to bring anything — cellphone, laptops, and any gadgets tending to distruct their focus on the tournament — when they finally go to Japan.

Reyes though, did not annouce the final 12-man unit for the Japan joust and that he is expected to do the announcement after the invitational wherein he will continue shuffling the original 15-man squad.

Reyes said although the return of Danny Siegle and Tony de la Cruz further adds strenght on their perimeter game, it would still be difficult for him to rotate his bench rich in talent, but lacks the necessary international experience.