Terrific 12 features World Cup vets

MANILA, Philippines — It will be redemption time for 11 players whose teams failed to advance to the second round of this year’s FIBA World Cup in China as they suit up for their home clubs in the Terrific 12 tournament featuring three PBA, four Japanese, three Chinese and two Korean pro teams at the Tap Seac Multi-Sports Pavilion in Macau on Sept. 17-22.

The 11 World Cuppers are 6-4 Guo Ailun, 6-2 Sun Minghui and 6-1 Zhao Jiwei of China, 6-11 Kosuke Takeuchi and 6-3 Makoto Hiejima of Japan, 6-6 Kim Sun-hyung, 6-3 Lee Jung-hyun and 6-7 Choi Jun-yong of South Korea and 6-10 June Mar Fajardo, 6-0 R. R. Pogoy and 6-7 Troy Rosario of the Philippines. 

In the Macau competition, Guo and Zhao will play for the Liaoning Flying Leopards while Sun will suit up for the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions. Takeuchi and Hiejima will team up with the Utsunomiya Brex. Choi and Kim will banner the Seoul SK Knights and Lee, the Jeonju KCC Egis. Fajardo will lead the San Miguel Beermen while Pogoy and Rosario will be in TNT’s roster.

Aside from the 11 World Cup veterans, the Terrific 12 rosters will headline eight NBA players – Blackwater’s 6-10 Alex Stepheson, TNT’s 6-5 K. J. McDaniels, Liaoning’s 6-6 Lance Stephenson and 6-8 Brandon Bass, Ryukyu’s 6-9 Jack Cooley, Shenzhen’s 6-6 Shabazz Muhammad, Seoul’s 6-8 Jameel Warney and Zhejiang’s Aaron (Ajax) Jackson.

The 12 squads will be split into four groups of three in the eliminations then the top finishers in each bracket will advance to the semifinals. There will be a playoff for third place before the championship game on Sept. 22. In Group A are Blackwater, Seoul and Chiba Jets of Japan. In Group B are Shenzhen, Ryukyu and San Miguel Beer. In Group C are Zhejiang, Utsunomiya and Jeonju. In Group D are Liaoning, Niigata Albirex and TNT. No two teams from the same country are in one bracket. Each team is guaranteed an appearance fee of $50,000 and first-class hotel accommodations. The winner will receive $150,000 and the second-placer, $100,000. The third placer will take home $50,000.

A total of 16 games will be played in the Terrific 12 which reels off on Tuesday. Day 1 games will pit Seoul against Blackwater at 3 p.m., Zhejiang against Jeonju at 5 p.m., Shenzhen against San Miguel at 7 p.m. and Liaoning against TNT at 9 p.m. Key matchup in the nightcap is the revival of the FIBA Asia backcourt rivalry between Guo and former Gilas star Jayson Castro.

Liaoning is the early favorite to top the tournament with Stephenson and Bass leading the charge. The imports played a combined 21 seasons in the NBA, collecting a total of over $70 million in salaries. Bass, 34, played 758 games for New Orleans, Dallas, Orlando, Boston, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers while Stephenson, 29, saw action in 508 contests for Indiana, Charlotte, the Clippers, Memphis, New Orleans, Minnesota and the Lakers.

“I can’t wait to play in the Terrific 12 with my new teammates,” said Stephenson who blew into LeBron James’ ear to irritate him while they were lined up in a free throw situation during the Indiana-Miami Game 5 in the 2014 Eastern Conference finals. “It should really help us unite as a team and help me acclimate to this new style of play more easily. Our plan is to win the championship so that momentum will help us as a club heading into the regular season.”

The three PBA teams will bring in their Governors Cup recruits and another reinforcement as the tournament allows each entry to enlist two imports. Blackwater’s imports are Stepheson and Aaron Fuller. San Miguel will suit up 6-10 Lester Prosper and 6-5 Dez Wells. TNT has signed up McDaniels and 6-5 McKenzie Moore of the University of Texas at El Paso.

Fajardo, the PBA’s five-time MVP, said he’s excited to return to international action after averaging 7 points, 5 rebounds and 17.2 minutes in five games at the World Cup. “We’ve got a pretty tough group,” he said. “We’ll be up against some strong big men, especially the guys from Shenzhen. But we’ve seen it all in terms of competition and we’ll be relying on our team effort and championship experience to carry us through.” Making his return to the international scene is San Miguel guard Terrence Romeo.