Mission accomplished
in basketball

NAKHON RATCHASIMA. — The Philippine men’s basketball team had little trouble beating host Thailand 94-53 to complete a four-game sweep of the 24th Southeast Asian Games basketball competition here.

The victory meant an eight straight cage championship for the Nationals, backed by Harbour Centre, since 1991 and the gold medal that mattered most for the basketball-crazy Filipinos.

In hacking out their fourth straight win before a big Thursday crowd at the Suranaree University of Technology Stadium that included Thai princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, the Nationals finished the single round robin as the only unbeaten team, including a big 48-point winning margin over Malaysia.

Veteran mentor June Baculi basked in the limelight of his first SEA Games title as a coach while the rest of the RP team members exchanged hugs and high-fives at the end of the buzzer, formally clinching for the Filipinos the basketball gold they last won in Vietnam four years ago.

The two-year FIBA suspension meted on the country denied the Nationals a chance to defend the title in the 2005 Manila SEA Games.

"Mission accomplished. We really prepared for this tournament. This is the fruit of all our labor," said Baculi.

Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero led the sizeable Filipino delegation that cheered the RP team. Standing at ringside, he personally waved the huge Philippine giant in the din of the Nationals’ celebration.

Indonesia copped the silver medal while Malaysia settled for the bronze.

The host team ended its campaign without a single win in four games, but was looking forward to a gracious exit with a win over the region’s undisputed basketball kings. The Thais almost did it.

With the Nationals getting off to a rather tentative start, the host jumped off to an early 13-9 lead after a three-pointer by Piyapong Piroon.

But Fil-Am Gabe Norwood hit a trey to spark an 18-1 run by the Filipinos bridging the first and second quarters that put them on top for good 29-14.

The host had one last fight left. Briefly, they outscored the Nationals 12-4 and reduced the deficit to 26-33 before the Philippines restored the lead to double digit at 40-28 by the end of the first half.

"I just told the boys not to give them (Thais) the honor of beating the gold medalists," said Baculi.

Beau Belga and Philippine Christian U teammate Jason Castro topscored with 14 points each for the Nationals, who outrebounded the Thais 45-22 and pulled off 12 steals.