Phl's best finish in 15 years

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines hadn’t made it to the Final Four of the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup since Hapee Toothpaste represented the country to bag the crown at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in 1996.

So the breakthrough this year was significant for Smart Gilas. There were close calls along the way. In 2005, the Philippines was eliminated by Jordan in the quarterfinals and wound up fifth. It was the same finish in 2009 when Gilas lost a 76-71 decision to Al Arabi of Qatar in the semifinals.

Making it to the semifinals in a tournament that allows two imports per team is an achievement for Gilas whose only reinforcement is naturalized player Marcus Douthit. Gilas did it the hard way, coming back from 15 points down twice to repulse Al Jala’a Aleppo of Syria, 85-80, last Friday. The win over Syria was sweet revenge for coach Rajko Toroman as in last year’s Champions Cup, Al Jala’a tripped Gilas, 83-81, on a buzzer-beater.

The Philippines has won four Champions Cup titles since the tournament was inaugurated in 1981. Coach Ron Jacobs piloted Northern Cement to the country’s first crown in Ipoh, Malaysia, in 1984. Northern Cement was bannered by Hector Calma, Joseph Uichico, Franz Pumaren, Elmer Reyes, Jun Tan, Tonichi Yturri, Samboy Lim, Yves Dignadice, Jeff Moore, Chip Engelland and Dennis Still. The team’s average winning margin was a whopping 43.5 points as Northern made mincemeat of the opposition. Among the hapless victims were G. D. Wa Seng of Macau, 126-15, Al Arabi, 91-69, PKNS of Malaysia, 95-56, Bahrain, 94-51 and the August 1st Liberation Army of China twice, 82-62 and 82-56.

The Philippines’ next title came in Jakarta in 1988 with PBL-Swift downing the Lioaning Hunters of China, 84-69, in the finals. The coach was Nat Canson with assistant Nemie Villegas and the Swift players were Ato Agustin, Peter Aguilar, Alvin Patrimonio, Bong Alvarez, Ric-Ric Marata, Nelson Asaytono, Boy Cabahug, Tony de la Cerna, Jun Reyes, Noli Banate and Nani Demegillo. Swift had no imports in the lineup.

“The Champions Cup was called the Asian Interclub Championships at the time,” recalled team manager Buddy Encarnado. “By virtue of winning in Jakarta, we earned the right to represent Asia in the World Interclub Championships in Argentina. I love those players and coaches who did it for flag and country.”

Patrimonio said the 1988 title was unexpected. “We didn’t think we could win because China was our opponent,” he said. “But it was a big achievement since we won an international championship. I’ll never forget it because it was my last amateur competition before turning pro in the PBA.”

In 1995, Andok’s claimed the Champions Cup crown for the country, beating Petronas of Malaysia, 107-82, in the finals. Coach Junel Baculi’s imports were Bobby Parks and Alex Coles. His locals included Leo Austria, Patrick Fran, Joel Dualan, Biboy Simon and Jack Santiago.

“We weren’t considered to be a contender because we brought in only our national team B with the big names like Marlou Aquino and Bal David playing for coach Joe Lipa in team A in the Southeast Asian Games,” recalled Baculi, now National University athletic director. “But we surprised everyone.”

The next year, Baculi was back on the Philippine bench, this time with Hapee Toothpaste.  Austria and Dualan were among his holdovers. 

Danny Ildefonso and Tata Fernandez beefed up the local cast. With imports Parks and Tony Harris leading the charge, Hapee brought the country its fourth Champions Cup jewel, defeating Isuzu Lynx of Japan, 77-74, in the finals.

“Winning back-to-back Champions Cup titles was very memorable for me,” said Baculi. “It was significant because the wins reestablished the Philippines as a contender in the international game. It was like a shot in the arm for Philippine basketball. I was lucky to coach the Philippines to the gold medal in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games with Mikee Romero as our sponsor. Gabe Norwood and Jason Castro played for our team that year. We played an all-Filipino lineup. By comparison, the Champions Cup is a different level. First, it’s Asian in scope. Then, you play against two imports. I was also lucky to win seven PBL championships. But winning those two Champions Cup titles was a major highlight in my career.”

In the yearly FIBA-Asia Champions Cup, each of the five Asian sub-zones is entitled to a team. But this year, teams from Middle Asia and East Asia begged off for various reasons.  Kazakhstan and Afghanistan from Middle Asia sent regrets. From East Asia, Japan withdrew and South Korea also declined. The Thailand Slammers, the ABL champion, were supposed to represent Southeast Asia but also backed out, leaving the door open for the Kuala Lumpur Dragons. West Asia sent in defending back-to-back champion Mahram of Iran, Applied Science University of Jordan, Al Riyadi of Lebanon, Al Jala’a Aleppo of Syria and Duhok of Iraq. The Gulf is represented by Al Rayyan of Qatar, Al Shabab of the United Arab Emirates and Japan’s replacement Al Ittihad Jeddah of Saudi Arabia. The Philippines booked an automatic ticket to participate as host nation.

It is only the Philippines’ third time to host the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup after 1996 and 2005. Malaysia has hosted five stagings in 1984, 1995, 1998, 2002 and 2003. Jakarta was the site in 1988, 1990, 1997 and 2009. Bangkok hosted in 1992 and Tehran in 2007. Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon hosted twice each.