RP Selecta whips SMB

The Selecta Philippine Team played with only nine players but still proved too much for San Miguel Beer, pulling off a 64-59 decision in its maiden outing in the Samsung PBA Governors Cup at the Makati Coliseum last night.

Dennis Espino, Poch Juinio and Asi Taulava flexed their muscles underneath the basket while Chris Calaguio, Dondon Hontiveros and Olsen Racela exerted efforts from the outside as the RP candidates worked together to overcome Lamont Strothers’ 28-point game.

Espino and Hontiveros combined for 23 points and delivered the lethal blows on the Beermen with clutch baskets down the stretch.

"It’s nice to win. But the results of our games here are secondary. We’re here to learn," said coach Jong Uichico, whose Selecta RP team gained its first win in its PBA campaign ironically at the expense of his regular PBA ballclub.

"Hopefully, we learn something in tonight’s game. Kasi sometimes you will lose but you learn something. Minsan naman, you win but learn nothing," Uichico added.

Both teams actually struggled in the contest, specially in the early goings with each side putting up varying defenses. RP Selecta started with man-to-man defense while San Miguel played the zone.

Coupled with the relative unfamiliarity of the players with each other, the poor results showed in the stats.

The Beermen made only three of 18 shots in the first period and had a grand total of 24-of-66 for a measly 36 percent. The RP Candidates were just a shade better, making 24 of 62 attempts.

But both teams should be commended for putting up a good fight despite depleted rosters.

RP Selecta was without injured players Eric Menk, Kenneth Duremdes and Ali Peek together with Fil-Ams Jimmy Alapag, Chris Clay and Jeffrey Flowers who have yet to be cleared by the Department of Justice. The Beermen, meanwhile, found themselves pitted against teammates Racela and Hontiveros while also missing Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle.

Racela and Hontiveros played key roles for RP Selecta in the contest with the former scoring seven of his nine points at the outset of the fourth quarter and the latter unleashing a killer three-pointer in the closing seconds.

San Miguel had come within two points at 58-56 with 1:24 left to play when Espino and Hontiveros teamed up in a decisive 5-0 binge that all but settled the outcome of the game at 63-56.

With practically all of them contributing their share, the RP Candidates dictated the tempo almost throughout.

But the Beermen kept the game close with Strothers carrying the bulk of the fight for the team. Keith Hill made his presence felt only in the fourth quarter, making 10 of his 16 points in that period.

Meanwhile, Alaska Milk and Barangay Ginebra collide today in the season’s first road game at the CEU Centrodome in Malolos, Bulacan. Gametime is at 6:05 p.m. with the two teams determined to open their campaign on a bright note despite the loss of key players to the national team.

Alaska will be without Duremdes and Peek while Ginebra will be minus Menk and EJ Feihl.

The legal war between Talk N Text and the Basketball Association of the Philippines could eventually unfold in the next few days with the PLDT franchise reportedly able to secure a working license for American coach Bill Bayno from the Games and Amusement Board.

A Talk N Text insider told The STAR the team management got the GAB license for Bayno yesterday and they expect the Department of Labor and Employment to grant the foreign mentor the alien employment permit (AEP) today.

If Bayno is able to present these documents, PBA commissioner Jun Bernardino said they can’t stop the former University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) coach from calling the shots for the Phone Pals as they start their campaign in the Samsung PBA Governors Cup tomorrow versus the Purefoods Hotdogs.

But BCAP president Chito Narvasa said they will immediately seek a court order once they find Bayno coaching Talk N Text.

Narvasa said they will cite a Supreme Court decision back in 1991 and a Dole ruling in 1998 in contesting the appointment of Bayno as Talk N Text coach.