True to form, Team Sinag Pilipinas romped through its
last three assignments to cop the gold medal in Men’s Basketball in the 2013
SEA Games in Myanmar. Team Philippines humiliated Thailand on Day 5, 100-68,
spanked the Indons on Day 6, 83-52, and then rolled past the Malaysians
yesterday, 84-56, to formalize the Pinoys’ sweep of the biennial event. This is
the tenth straight gold medal finish for the Philippines and its sixteenth gold
overall. The only time the Filipinos fell short of the gold was way back in
1989 when Malaysia won first place.
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| Sinag Pilipinas clinched the gold! (image by Josh Reyes) |
Without a doubt, the most colorful game of the
tournament was the one between Sinag and Thailand, as the match saw Chanachon
Klahan throw some elbows and get himself ejected. To my knowledge, he is the
first and only “ejectee” of the tournament. Props to you, Mr. Klahan, for such
a notorious distinction. Chalk it up to frustration, I guess? I mean, this Thai
team was pretty much the same one that competed in the 2013 FIBA Asia
tournament here in Manila. They fared miserably, of course, but they were
probably hoping to do much better here in Myanmar. They probably were even
hoping they had a sliver of a chance against the Philippine, but, lo and
behold, the Pinoys were way beyond their reach. UST Tiger Kevin Ferrer lit up
the Thais here, hitting 4 triples on his way to a game-high 23 points, while
Jake Pascual ruled the paint with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
A day after, Sinag leaned on a strong second half to
dump the stubborn Indons. Indonesia stuck around for a whole half before coach
Jong Uichico’s wards took things seriously in the last two periods, outscoring
their foes, 43-18. It was a balanced scoring effort for Sinag, which saw eight players
score 7 markers or more. They were led by Marcus Douthit, who dropped 11 points
along with 11 boards and 2 steals, while Mark Belo continued to impress with 10
points, 5 rebounds, and 3 thefts. The Pinoys withstood the hot shooting of
Xaverious Prawiro and big man Dodo Sitepu, who paired up for 4 of Indonesia’s 7
treys.
In its last assignment, Sinag methodically drubbed Malaysia,
84-56, behind inspired play from US-bound Ray Parks. Parks, who has announced
his foregoing of his final year of UAAP eligibility, rattled in 18 points on
7/9 FG shooting, including 3 triples, as the Pinoys took home the crown. He was
backstopped by Letran’s Kevin Alas, who scored 13 markers on 6/8 shooting. Alas
missed the first few games of the tournament, but he proved to be a sparkplug
in this encounter. The sniping of Malaysia’s Wei Hong Choo and Chun Khee Ong,
along with the drives of 6’7 swingman Tian Yuan Kuek, gave Sinag some fits in
the first half, but the Pinoys were just too talented to be denied the blowout.
In contrast to Sinag’s expected gold medal romp, the
Singaporeans defied pre-tournament expectations by finishing with a 4-2 record
en route to its first podium finish in 34 years. Once again, coach Neo Beng Siang’s wards rode
outside shooting to win their last two assignments and secure the bronze. Larry
Liew, Hanbin Ng, and Wong Wei Long combined for 8 triples in the Singaporeans’
triumph over Cambodia on Day 5, 99-43. Ng caught fire again a day later,
rifling in 4 treys as Singapore blasted Myanmar, 89-52, to finish right behind
the Philippines and Thailand in the standings. Overall, this was a landmark
tournament for the young and promising Singaporeans, who are sure to make some
noise in the nest few years of SEABA hoops.
The 2013 SEA Games Men’s Basketball Tourney Standings
as of December 16, 2013 (morning):
TEAM
|
WINS
|
LOSSES
|
Philippines
|
6
|
0
|
Thailand
|
4
|
1
|
Singapore
|
4
|
2
|
Malaysia
|
3
|
3
|
Indonesia
|
2
|
4
|
Cambodia
|
1
|
5
|
Myanmar
|
0
|
5
|
Day 5:
SINGAPORE
over CAMBODIA, 99-43
SIN 99 - Liew 21, Wong 14, Wu 11, Ng 9, Oh 8, Lim 8, Su 8,
Hong 8, Tan 6, Goh 4, Khaw 2, Low 0
CAM 43 - Dar 15, Ratana 12, Sovann 7, Phatara 5, Kim 2,
Ouch 2, Boroth 0, Sok S 0, Sok T 0, Pheng 0, Tait 0, Therro 0,
QS: 16-14,
39-23, 61-34, 99-43
PHILIPPINES
over THAILAND, 100-68
PHL 100 - Ferrer 23, Pascual J 15, Ravena 14, Douthit 10,
Lanete 9, Belo 9, Alas 6, Parks 5, Sumang 4, Ganuelas 3, Pascual R 2, Cruz 0
THA 68 - Ghogar 11, Kaedum 8, Dasom 8, Suttisin 6,
Apiromvilaichai Dn 6, Apiromvilaichai Dg 6, Klahan 6, Klaewnarong 5, Jantuma 4,
Kongkum 3, Kruatiwa 3, Lertlaokul 2,
QS: 29-17,
54-33, 85-42, 100-68
MALAYSIA
over MYANMAR, 69-42
MAS 69 - Kuek 13, See 10, Choo 9, Gan 8, Wong 8, Loh 8,
Kwaan 8, Ooi 3, Koh 2, Ong 0, Mak 0, Ng 0
MYA 42 - Wang 8, Thein 7, Sei 6, Aung YG 5, Nyan 5, Pyae 5,
La 4, Kyi 2, Sett 0, Yan 0, Zaw 0, Aung PW 0
QS: 16-7, 34-15,
50-33, 69-42
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| Myanmar versus Malaysia a couple of days ago. (image from the 27th SEA Games Facebook page) |
Day 6:
PHILIPPINES
over INDONESIA, 83-52
PHL 83 - Douthit 11, Ravena 10, Ferrer 9, Belo 9, Alas 8,
Ganuelas 8, Pascual J 8, Parks 7, Sumang 6, Cruz 4, Lanete 3, Pascual R 0
INA 52 - Prawiro 14, Sitepu 11, Gemilang 6, Pamungkas 6,
Putra 5, Dhyaksa 3, Siregar 3, Gunawan 2, Utomo 2, Nugroho 0, Ferdinand 0,
Ruslan 0
QS: 18-18,
40-34, 67-43, 83-52
THAILAND
over MALAYSIA, 73-69
THA 73 - Kruatiwa 24, Kongkum 12, Apiromvilaichai Dn 11,
Jantuma 10, Dasom 7, Ghogar 6, Suttisin 3, Lertlaokul 0, Apiromvilaichai Dg 0,
Klahan 0
MAS 69 - Loh 27, Kwaan 9, Ong 9, Koh 8, Ooi 7, Wong 4, Kuek
3, Soo 2, Choo 0, Gan 0
QS: 20-16,
45-32, 60-47, 73-69
SINGAPORE
over MYANMAR, 89-52
SIN 89 -
MYA 52 - Wang 17, Aung PW 8, Thein 7, Nyan 6, La 5, Kyi 4,
Aung YG 3, Sei 1, Pyae 1, Sett 0
QS: 34-10,
53-21, 73-35, 89-52
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| SG coach Neo Beng Siang with some wise words. (image by Peh Siong San/SSC) |
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| Russell Low dominates down low against Myanmar. (image by Peh Siong San/SSC) |
Day 7:
INDONESIA
over CAMBODIA, 84-48
QS: 23-13,
44-24, 61-42, 84-48
PHILIPPINES
over MALAYSIA, 84-56
PHL 84 - Parks 18, Alas 13, Pascual J 8, ravena 8, Douthit
6, Lanete 6, Sumang 6, Ferrer 5, Cruz 5, Belo 4, Pascual R 3, Ganuelas 2
MAS 56 - Ong 11, Choo 10, Kuek 10, Koh 9, Ooi 4, Wong 4,
Loh 3, Ng 3, Kwaan 2, Soo 0, Gan 0, Mak 0
QS: 21-15,
43-34, 68-49, 84-56
THAILAND
vs. MYANMAR (still to be played today)
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