the team shot a blistering 71% from the field, with every member of the lineup lighting up the scoreboard, 7 of them even scoring in double figures. kiefer ravena led the pack with 17 points on 8/8 shooting as rr garcia, garvo lanete, nico salva, dave marcelo, chris ellis, and rayray parks also scored in double figures for sinag pilipinas.
it was a delight watching sinag play together, despite only practicing with each other for only three weeks. competing against professional basketball players from their asean counterparts, this team is relatively young yet loves to run and has an advantage in terms of basketball iq. under coach norman black, defense is the forte of the team, and such is evident in the manner they outrebounded, outran, and outhustled the opponent.
of course, one can say that "it's just cambodia", but this game served as a good preparation for sinag as they face "tougher" opponents in the competition. it would be nice to see them play against "real" competition though in the years to come.
finally, it was nice to see an all-ateneo five on the floor at one part of the game: greg slaughter at center, salva at pf, chris tiu at sf, ravena at sg, and emman monfort at pg. though armchair coaches in the internet have raised eyebrows on the number of ateneo players in the line-up, i have to say that these players have been well-accustomed with the coach's system. they might not have much offensive firepower as others, but they follow the team concept of playing. besides, statistically, these players are quite efficient - in scoring, fg%, assist-turnover ratio, etc. - compared to other players who can score chunks yet can throw more bricks along the way. in the end, it's about efficiency and team play that will lead this team to another gold medal finish.
The scores:
Philippines (127) – Ravena 17, Garcia 16, Lanete 15, Salva 14, Marcelo 12, Ellis 12, Parks 10, Tiu 9, Hodge 9, Pascual 6, Monfort 2.
Cambodia (68) – Sophoeun 24, Pek 24, Boroth 15, Kim, V. 3, Kim 0, Sovann 0, Meas 0, Monh 0, Lov 0, Chom 0.
Quarterscores: 35-20; 61-39; 93-56; 127-68
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