SMC-PILIPINAS DROPS A HEARTBREAKER TO LEBANON

CHINESE-TAIPEI - RONY Fahed plunged a dagger Into the hearts of the Filipinos in the form of a buzzer-beating banked tripled as Lebanon came through with a 65-62 come-from-behind win over San Miguel-Pilipinas in the 29th William Jones Cup Basketball Tournament at the Sinjhuang Gym here.

The Filipinos actually self-destructed in the last two-and-a-half minutes and failed to score after Dondon Hontiveros had given the Nationals a 62-56 advantage.

Two free throws by Fadi El Khatib and a triple by Omar El Turk put the Lebanese to within a point, 62-61, exactly a minute to go. After Khatib blocked an undergoal stab by Asi Taulava, he lost the bal to the sideline, giving San Miguel-Pilipinas a chance to pad on the slim lead.

But Mark Caguioa, one of the heroes in the victory against defending champion Athletes in Action of USA, committed a dribbling violation, turning the ball over to Lebanon.

In the ensuing play, Gabe Norwood sent Basem Bala to the stripe and he split his free throws for a 62-all count,17 seconds to go.

Instead of taking the last shot, however, Hontiveros opted to heave a quartercourt jumper with still about five seconds to go and missed, paving the way for Fahed's heroics.

"It was a very interesting win. The Philippines is a very good team because it won against the Americans," said Serbian Georges Ketzi, head coach of the Lebanon squad which tied Korea at the top of the standings following a 71-65 victory over Jordan.

"It's a revenge win for us and a good preparation for the team en route to the Olympic qualifier in Japan," Ketzi added.

"We haven't been together for most part of the year. The coach is new. I just want to come in and try to contribute to my team. Our main goal is to be 100 percent when we hit Japan," said Lebanese ace Joe Vogel.

SMC-Pilipinas took the half, 37-31, with new recruit James Yap scoring seven points in his short stint. The Nationals opened the third period with a four-point swing courtesy of Gabe Norwood for a 41-31 advantage.

However, the Filipinos were assessed five quick fouls and entered penalty with still over five minutes to go. As a result, the Lebanese threatened 47-44,1:26 to go.

But Vogel was assessed a technical foul after pushing off Taulava and that led to a five-point swing by the Filipinos, easing the pressure a bit, 52-44, at the end of the third.

Norwood opened the final period with a slam dunk as San Miguel-Pilipinas re-established a ten-point bubble, 54-44, 8:09 to go. But Fahed scored five points that included a triple in a 9-0 burst by Lebanon which closed in, 54-53, 5:11 remaining.

Athletes in Action and Kazakhstan bouned back from stinging opening day losses by routing separate rivals. The Americans, who drew double digit scoring from six players, sent Qatar reeling to its second straight setback, 106-68. The Kazakhs likewise handed Japan its second loss, 96-61.

Brian Asbury paced Athletes in Action with 17 points and Todd Hendley had 15. Cliff Hammonds and Alex Ruoff chipped in 11 apiece while Tyler Wilkerson and Reed Rawlings had 10 points each.

Anton Ponomarev led the Kazakhs with 27 points while Alexandr Tyutyunik had 18.

The Philippines is expected to encounter little resistance from Japan in Wednesday's 3:30 pm encounter. The RP-Japan match will be shown over ABC Channel 5 at 7 pm, followed by the Chinese-Taipei-Jordan game at 10 pm.

San Miguel-Pilipinas takes on a tough Korean squad Thursday in preparation for their meeting with Jordan and Iran in the weekend.

Reyes said he is wary about Jordan which pulled off a 63-61 squeaker of a win over Kazakhstan on opening day.

"That is bad news for us. In my mind, Kazakhstan should be a tougher team because we lost twice to them last year and in the Champions Cup. But with Jordan winning over Kazakhstan, presents a different scenario," said Reyes.

Rasheim Wright scored 25 points in 33 minutes while Zaid Alkhas added 12 in that surprise win over the Kazakhs.

San Miguel-Pilipinas faces Jordan on Friday and Iran on Saturday and these are the games that matter most to Reyes as both teams are entered in the same bracket as the Filipinos and powerhouse China in the Tokushima joust.

The scores:

LEBANON 65 -Khatib 26, Vogel 11, Fahed 8, Balaa 6, Mahmoud 5, Nour 3, Tauve 3,Turk 3, Samaha 0.

SMC-RP 62 - Hontiveros 10, Norwood 10, Caguioa 7, Taulava 7, Yap 7, Pennisi 6, Alapag 5,Raymundo 4, Helterbrand 4, De Ocampo 0, Williams 0, Menk 0.

Quarters:14-18; 31-37; 44-52; 65-62.