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The Nokia RP Under-16 squad held court and played with pride as they embarassed the Iran national team, 77-57, to take the title in the Nokia Pilipinas 2nd Youth Invitational Basketball Championships, yesterday at the jam-packed University of San Carlos gym.
The Nationals wasted notime in asserting their dominance over the taller Iranians as they dropped a scintillating 20-1 run bridging the first and second periods, that set the tempo en route to logging in the lopsided victory.
The game was tied at 8-all when the Nationals turned their jets on and rode the brilliant plays of Jeron Teng, Angelo Alolino, Kiefer Ravena and Cris Tolomia, that gave them a commanding first half lead.
A booming three-point shot by Tolomia pegged the score at 28-9. Another 11-4 salvo anchored on the shots of Ateneo star Ravena, put the Nationals on top by 20, 41-21 at halftime.
Iran tried to make a game out of it in the third period as they trimmed the deficit to just 13, 41-54, after the offensive barrage of wingman Mohamad Ojaghi, who scored 10 of his 17 points in that stretch.
RP, though, was unfazed as Paolo Romero and Von Pessumal scored the Nationals' first 12 points to restore order and give them a 66-51 lead. They would not be threatened from thereonend.
Ojaghi and Teng was ejected from the game for a scuffle with 2.4 seconds left in the game. Teng took objection for a hard foul by the former with the game all but won. Teng and Ravena each had 15 points while Romero added 11 markers.
Nokia head coach Eric Altamirano said that playing in the tournament has given his wards a glimpse of what to expect in the upcoming FIBA Asia Under-16 Championships which will be held in Malaysia later this month. The Nationals are grouped together with Japan, Bahrain and Kazakshstan.
The champions in the FIBA Asia tournament will earn a slot in the Under-16 World Championships which will be held in Hamburg, Germany next year.
Asked about the possibility of having a Cebuano, particularly Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. juniors MVP Mark Jayven Tallo join the squad in the future, Altamirano stated that it is a possibility but it will hinge on the former?s performance in the upcoming National Basketball Training Center Developmental League which starts in January of next year.
