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Harbour
Centre-Philippines kept its streak rolling Sunday by
scoring an easy 125-92 victory over the Filipino
migrants in a friendly competition in Seoul, South
Korea.
Showing
how potent their offense is, the Nationals came through
with a hail of three-point shots as they settled the
game right in the first half after building several
20-point leads.
 “The
Filipino community invited us to play with them, so as
ambassadors of goodwill we obliged to play and gave
their families an entertainment they missed while away
in the
Philippines,”
said team manager Erick Arejola.
The win
was the third straight for Harbour-RP team since it
dropped its initial game against
Myungji University
Thursday.
In all,
the Nationals had 17 triples as they virtually toyed
with the overmatched Filipino migrants.
The trip
is part of the team’s preparations for the 24th
Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December. On
Friday, the Nationals mauled Yongsei University, 91-76,
and then surprised the US Army squad the following day,
102-88,
“Right
now, I’m happy with what the team is doing. They’re
improving and I hope they can sustain it till SEA
Games,” said Harbour Centre owner and amateur basketball
godfather Mikee Romero. “They’re not only training but
they’re also providing entertainment to hundreds of OFWs.”
While
Jeff Chan, Boyet Bautista, Erick de la Cuesta, Jonathan
Fernandez and Patrick Cabahug continued to sharpen their
shooting arms, Filipino-American Alex Crisano provided
fun in the game as he dazzled the crowd with an array of
dunk shots.
The
burly six-foot-seven Crisano finished the game with 20
points—his highest production so far.
With the
five-foot-seven Bautista knocking in four triples, he
finished with a team-high 22 points, while Chan added
17, which he highlighted with three triples.
Fernandez contributed 12 points—all from the three-point
zone—while University Athletic Association of the
Philippines Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jervy Cruz, Beau
Belga and Cabahug combined for 27 points.
Back-to-back Philippine Basketball League MVP Jason
Castro was used sparingly because of a sprain he
sustained during the team’s opening game but still
finished with nine points.
****
Vietnamese sports minister sets
achievable ‘70-gold’ goal
By Ian Brion
Reporter
VIETNAM
is projecting a 70-gold harvest in the 24th Southeast
Asian Games.
According to Nguyen Danh Thai,
Vietnam’s
Deputy Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports, the
Vietnamese are banking on the martial arts, shooting and
athletics to help achieve that goal, the Thanh Nien News
Agency reported.
A
whipping boy during the height of a civil war until an
economic surge at the turn of the century made it a
perennial contender, Vietnam is sending 839 athletes and
officials to
Thailand,
the second-largest contingent behind the host Thais.
The
70-gold-medal prediction is a realistic forecast, based
on Vietnam’s 2005 production that includes 71 gold, 68
silver and 80 bronze medals that put it third place
overall in the medal standings.
Nguyen,
whose 605 athletes are competing in 36 disciplines, said
Thailand is a cinch to capture an unprecedented fourth
overall championship.
Vietnam
won a record 158 gold medals when it hosted the SEA
Games for the first time in 2003, the third-most mints
in the Games’ history behind Indonesia’s 194 in 1997 and
185 in 1987.
In 2005
the Vietnamese had the bulk of their gold medals coming
from athletics (8, including three SEA Games records),
chess (8), wushu (7), pencak silat (7), wrestling (6),
karatedo (5), gymnastics (5) and judo (4).
Chess
will not be included in the coming SEA Games.
Most of
Vietnam’s gold medals when it hosted in 2003 came from
shooting (25), wrestling (18), wushu (13), fin swimming
(13), swimming (13), karate-do (12), pencak silat (11),
athletics (8), judo (6), gymnastics (6) and taekwondo
(5).
****
Asuncion siblings have work cut out for
them in Thailand
By Zenaida Dadacay
Correspondent
THE
country’s top badminton mixed-doubles players vowed to
give their best to avoid a medal shutout in 24th
Southeast Asian Games.
Kennie
and Kennevic Asuncion, the most prolific active
badminton players in the country, lead a four-man squad
that will see action in the Thailand Games in December.
“We were
sad when we failed to win any medal in the last SEA
Games here. I admit that the competition this year is
very tough, but we will do our best to give a medal for
the country,” said Kennie.
The
Asuncions were empty-handed in 2005, after they salvaged
a bronze in the Vietnam Games in 2003.
Indonesia
is expected to dominate after Nova Widianto and Lilyana
Natsir, the No. 2-ranked mixed-doubles team, and
reigning Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat confirmed
participation.
“The
field is really tough as if we are competing in a
world-class tournament. The best badminton players not
only in the region but also in the world are expected to
show up,” said Kennie.
Besides
Indonesia, which won four gold, four silver and three
bronze medals in 2005, Thailand and Malaysia are also
forces to reckon with.
“We are
preparing hard for this. As much as possible, we want to
compete all year to maintain our shape and gain more
exposure. We don’t want to give a prediction, we will
just do our best,” added Kennie.
Also set
to compete in the
Thailand
meet are Christopher Flores and Alfredo Mailon, who will
make their debut in the SEA Games. Flores will compete
in men’s singles, while Mailon teams up with Kennevic in
men’s doubles.
The
Asuncions, ranked 24th in the world, are also eyeing a
top-16 finish to secure an automatic berth to the
Olympics next year. |
