Beware the Syrian giant

There’s a 7-2 giant from Syria awaiting the Philippines in the battle for fifth place in basketball at the Asian Games in Jakarta tomorrow. He’s Abdulwahab Alhamwi, a lumbering big man, a little awkward but an intimidating presence inside the paint. In three games, Alhamwi’s averaging 11 points and 9.7 rebounds. Against Chinese-Taipei, he had seven blocked shots. Against Iran, he shot 7-of-12 from the field and finished with 19 points. The downside was Syria lost both contests, 68-55 to Iran and 82-75 to Chinese-Taipei.

Syria brought in eight players who’ve seen action in the FIBA Asia/Pacific World Cup Qualifiers but left out three top guns – former PBA import Michael Madanly, 7-foot Ivan Todorovic who’s from Montenegro and 6-8 naturalized player Justin Hawkins of New Mexico State. Aside from Alhamwi, the Syrians to watch are 5-11 sharpshooter Tarek Aljabi, 6-6 Anthouny Bakar, 5-11 Sharif Al Osh and 6-9 Omar Ali-Cheikh. Aljabi, 28, fired 28 points, including 2-of-3 triples, in the loss to Chinese-Taipei and erupted for 33, including 4-of-8 triples, in Syria’s 76-66 win over Indonesia.

Fighting for fifth place is a big deal for the Philippines. A win over Syria will mean the Philippines’ best finish since winding up sixth in 2010 and seventh in 2014. It will also surpass sixth place in 1970 and 1978. Even as a medal is no longer within reach, the Philippines deserves credit for playing its heart out, considering the team was hastily-formed and lacked practice time. Imagine nearly toppling China and losing by two in the dying seconds. Imagine leading South Korea by eight twice and staying in the driver’s seat until the last six minutes. Despite the circumstances, the Philippines almost defeated two giants of Asia.

Beating Japan to move into a playoff for fifth was a triumph of spirit coming off back-to-back losses to China and South Korea. The players could’ve hung their heads down and just gone through the motions particularly as Japan showed up with only eight men. But they didn’t. Like Japan, the Philippines played proudly. They battled to a 27-all stand-off to end the first period then the Philippines buckled down to business and fashioned a 113-80 massacre. In the fourth quarter, the Philippines outscored Japan, 31-16.

Philippine head coach Yeng Guiao applauded Japan for a gritty effort. “We weren’t aggressive defensively in the first quarter,” he said. “It was just a hangover of the Korea game. The Japanese are scrappy and with no pressure on them, they just kept playing without a care. It was really a dangerous situation for us.”

Guiao said when the players realized Japan wouldn’t go away without a fight, they stepped up their defensive intensity. “We couldn’t let Japan just hang around with us,” he said. “We simply played better defense in the second half and wore them down since they were undermanned.”

Guiao said Jordan Clarkson’s impact has been significantly evident game after game. “He’s getting the hang of playing with his teammates,” said Guiao. “He’s more loose and enjoying the company of the guys on and off the court. He’s playing better overall because he knows the team can score without him carrying the burden by himself. He had nine assists against Japan and looked a lot more relaxed.”

Clarkson wasn’t the Philippines’ top scorer against Japan even as he hit 22, including 5-of-5 free throws. Christian Standhardinger led the way with 27 points and hauled down 13 rebounds. The only other double figure scorer was Paul Lee who shot 17, including 3-of-5 triples. Over the last two games, Lee has knocked down 6-of-11 from beyond the arc.

The good news for the Philippines is James Yap will be ready to go against Syria after sitting out the last two games with a swollen right foot. An MRI showed some swelling in the peroneal tendon but nothing serious. “He’ll be ready if coach Yeng calls his number,” said assistant coach/chief scout Ryan Gregorio. “All major ligaments and tendons are intact. He’s in pain. James understands this may be his last tour of duty and he’s more than willing to contribute in whatever capacity.”  In the Philippines’ 96-59 win over Kazakhstan, Yap compiled 12 points and six rebounds.

 Gregorio said Clarkson was “extremely happy” after beating Japan. “We played with tremendous energy on defense starting the third quarter and we scored the first eight points,” added Gregorio. “Solid 18-0 blast bridging the end of the second quarter until the start of the third. Christian and JC played good two-man basketball. JC had a lot of highlight passes. It was a strong overall performance by our team.  We beat their zone defense handily and played with great resolve on defense in the second half.”

Gregorio singled out Poy Erram for playing fiercely. He lost a front tooth and half of the other front tooth diving for the loose ball against South Korea. “Poy was focused,” said Gregorio. “He had a hard time smiling but after he was fouled hitting a three-point shot, he couldn’t hide his happiness. He made his bonus free throw and completed the four-point play.”