Team RP eyes sweep vs rested Lebanese 5

The San Miguel-RP team will be out to prove that its rout of Lebanon Sunday is no fluke as the two teams clash in the second of their two-game exhibition series at the San Juan Gym today.

The Nationals are looking forward to sustain their effort Sunday although they expect a big comeback and sharp form form the World Championship-bound Lebanese coming off a two-day rest.

Game time is at 7 p.m. with tickets prized affordably. The general admission area is open to the public for free.

Renren Ritualo fired seven triples and a total of 23 points while Ranidel de Ocampo and Mike Cortez added 12 and 11, respectively, as the Nationals fashioned out an emphatic 94-75 win over the Lebanese.

Curiously, the Lebanese, runners-up behind the Chinese in the last two Fiba-Asia championships, whipped Germany and Canada before coming here. But the Germans were without Dirk Nowitzki and the Canadians minus Steve Nash.

Coach Norman Black, who called the shots for the RP team in the first game, said the Lebanese might not have the legs Sunday since they came in just the day before the game. They had to endure a travel made longer by an incident in their flight to Manila from Jordan.

An allegedly deranged passenger attempted to harm one of the Lebanese players but was wrestled down and overcame by the other players. The plane was on a transit flight to Qatar but returned to Jordan where the troublemaker was unloaded and taken into custody, delaying the flight’s arrival in Manila by some five hours.

The incident might also have something to do with the Lebanese poor game Sunday.

The good news back home, however, may well inspire the Lebanese to come out strong tonight.

"We are very happy over that development (ceasefire in the Israel-Lebanon war) and we hope the peace continues in our country," said Lebanese team captain Fahdi El Khatib.

Paul Coughter, their American head coach, feels for his players and the families they left behind in Lebanon.

"I’m just so relieved," he said. "We’re all praying the situation improves."

Coughter said the long trip from Jordan to the Philippines (via Qatar) and the five-hour time difference had kept the team sleepless since they arrived.

"The day of the game last Sunday, we were up until six in the morning. Then we practiced," Coughter said, who has lost his voice due to the changed climate and the non-stop rain. "We’re all just out of sync. Hope we play better this time."

Coach Norman Black, the 1989 PBA Grand Slam coach and 1994 RP-Asian Games mentor, will step aside to give way for head coach Chot Reyes who’s back briefly back from Taiwan where San Miguel Beer is competing in an Asian pro tourney.

"Our players did what they had to do. They executed well and held their own off the boards against the taller Lebanese," said Black after Sunday’s game. "But the two-day rest should give them (Lebanese) enough time to recover and they could give us a good challenge the next time around."