KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – A tired, undermanned Philippine men’s team finished strong by beating African champion Cameroon, 51-37, Friday to wind up seventh in the World Beach Tchoukball Championships at The Sunset Beach Resort here.
The Filipinos got off to a great start, coordinated well by playing coach Benjie Oray, and took the first period, 18-11. They then gradually stretched their lead to 13 at the end of the second period, before coasting to a comfortable finish in the noonday heat. Sixteen teams joined the men’s competition. The victory came right after the Philippine women’s team overcame Thailand, 38-26, to end up fifth among the eight teams entered. The finals in both divisions between world number one Taiwan and world number two Singapore were being played as of this writing.
Playing three matches in the unforgiving heat Thursday, the young Filipinos stayed alive but paid the price with an injury they couldn’t afford.
Racing off to an early lead in their morning match, the Nationals frustrated France by building a 17-9 lead in the first period. Early in the second period, the Filipinos, using what they had learned from a week of training with world champion Taiwan, built the lead up to ten, 27-17, entering the third and final period.
Exchanging scores with the desperate French, the Philippines increased their lead to as many as 19 with a fatal 7-1 run before time ran out on their opponents, 44-29.
However, solid defender Rik Despejo complained of pain in his right shoulder. Unable to lift his arm, he was treated by on-site medical personnel. When the swelling refused to subside, he was accompanied to the hospital by Tchoukball Association of the Philippines (TAP) president Raymund Jamelo. This left the Philippines with only one substitute going into the crucial evening match against juggernaut Macau.