Aquino targets SEAG cage gold

MANILA, Philippines - Fresh from leading Perlas to the SEABA women’s basketball championship in Malacca, Philippine national coach Patrick Aquino said yesterday his target is to win the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games gold medal in Kuala Lumpur next year.

Since women’s basketball made its debut at the SEA Games in 1977, the Philippines has not captured a gold in 17 stagings, settling for seven silvers and five bronzes. Malaysia has collected 13 golds and four bronzes while Thailand has brought in four golds, seven silvers and two bronzes. The Philippines took second place in 2011 and 2013 but in the tournament last year, Perlas fell a win short of the gold then tumbled down to fourth.

“The gold’s not a sure thing but I think we’ll be tough to beat in the next SEA Games,” said Aquino who has led the NU Lady Bulldogs to back-to-back UAAP senior women’s titles with identical 16-0 records the last two seasons. “Our plan is to form a pool of 24 just like Gilas. We’ll try to practice as often as we can as a team and play in tournaments to stay sharp. We’ve been invited to play in New Zealand and there’s the possibility of playing in a pocket tournament in Malaysia.”

Aquino said recruiting a naturalized player will bolster the Perlas lineup particularly as next year, the Philippines will mark its first appearance in the six-nation Level I bracket at the FIBA Asia Championships. The other countries in Level I are Japan, China, South Korea, Chinese-Taipei and North Korea. Breaking into Level I wasn’t easy and it took an opening 71-64 loss to Malaysia to wake up Perlas at the FIBA Asia Championships in Wuhan last year.

“After we lost our first game, I told the girls if they didn’t want to play hard, let’s pack up and go home,” said Aquino. “The girls responded by winning five in a row, including a one-point victory over North Korea.” Perlas wound up first in Level II to earn a promotion to Level I. It was the Philippines’ best finish in the tournament since fourth place in 1984.

In Malacca, Aquino took eight players from the SEA Games lineup and the FIBA Asia cast then brought in fresh recruits to battle for the SEABA crown. “Our nucleus has been playing together for a while now,” he said. “The players are all familiar with our system. We play a running game and like to press full-court. We’ve mixed veterans with young players. I think we have the best of Philippine women’s basketball. We’ve got at least six MVPs from different leagues and players who like to play with each other.”

Perlas was untouchable in registering a 6-0 record for the SEABA title, beating Singapore, 69-43, Laos, 179-32, Vietnam, 134-56, Indonesia, 72-56, Malaysia, 77-73 and Thailand, 72-52. “We surprised Singapore with our full-court press,” said Aquino. “Against Indonesia, we neutralized their big players in the halfcourt and got our revenge from the SEA Games.”

The eight holdovers were 5-9 Allana Lim of FEU, 5-6 Cindy Resultay of UE, 5-6 Raiza Dy of FEU, 5-8 Afril Bernardino of NU, 5-8 Shelly Gupilan of NU, 5-10 Camille Sambile of FEU, 6-2 Jack Animam of NU and 5-2 Marizze Tongco of NU. The newcomers were the comebacking Ambi Almazan of Adamson, Chak Cabinbin of Lyceum, Ara Abaca of La Salle and Janine Pontejas of CEU. Veteran Ewon Aroyi joined the team in Malacca but wasn’t in the roster, having just recovered from dengue.

Aquino said in the next SEA Games, Perlas can’t afford to take any team lightly. “Singapore is the darkhorse because the government is serious in developing elite athletes and their training program is solid,” he said. “Thailand didn’t bring their best players to Malacca so I expect them to be stronger in the SEA Games. We’ll be cautious but we’ll be ready. Our players know what to do and if we go through a good training program, we’ll contend for the gold.”

Aquino said Perlas is tapping sources in the US, Australia and Europe to find a naturalized player who could be a fit for the national team. “Our scouts are looking right now,” he said. “We’re asking the scout who discovered Asi Taulava to help us. So far, there are no candidates but we expect to come up with a list soon.”

Ever Bilena chairman and Blackwater PBA team owner Dioceldo Sy, who is Perlas’ chief backer, said he likes the Philippines’ chances to capture the SEA Games title next year. “Pat is one of the best, if not the best women’s basketball coaches in the country,” he said. “In his first Perlas assignment, he was criticized for failing to deliver a medal at the SEA Games last year. But things are different now. The team has chemistry. Pat has rapport with the players who believe in his system.”

Sy said the four-point win over Malaysia in Malacca was a learning experience. “They went up 6-0 and we were a little tight,” he said. “Then, we tied it at 6-6 and never looked back. We were up by 20 in the fourth period but we got tired because of our full-court press. In the last few minutes, Malaysia went all out with the hometown fans screaming. But we held on to win. Malaysia wasn’t a pushover and they trained in Japan and Korea. We just refused to lose.”