If basketball was a ten-minute game, we would have played witness to the greatest upset of the tournament. And for three quarters, the Filipino boys gave China a run for their money, the first time any team has ever done so in this tournament. The Filipino boys played with a lot of heart and even though they lost 85-66, this semi-final match can be considered one of the best games of the tournament.
Philippines came out prepared to make a statement, that they were not afraid of the towering Chinese. The Filipino boys drove inside every opportunity they got and scored their first able to drive inside early, scoring their first 12 points entirely off layups.
Roldan Sara caught sight of a beautiful back door cut by Kiefer Issac Ravena, who had been overplayed on defense, and whipped him a pass for yet another inside score, giving the Philippines a 5 point lead. After Kevin Ferrer drew a charge on Guo Ailun, Chinese Coach called a time-out.
An emphatic block by Zhai Xiao Chuan silenced the Filipino crowd momentarily but Paolo Luis Romero drew another charge on Zhai Xiaochuan, and momentum remained on Philippines' side.
A tear-drop finger-roll followed by a three-pointer from the wing by Kiefer Issac Ravena gave Philippines a 8 point lead with 2:14 to play in the first quarter. A steal and score by China cut the lead to 4 and Zhai Xiaochuan found a cutting Xu Tao for another 2 points.
Joshua Angelo Alolino answered right back as the buzzer sounded with a high-arcing jumper to give Filipino a rare 4 point lead over China at the end of the first quarter.
China was not going to stay dormant for long and opend the second quarter with a 10-0 run to give China a 6-point lead. Philippine Coach Frederick Altamirano called a time-out to quell the Chinese tide.
Philippines triple-teamed Xu Tao in the paint and raced out for a fast break after his missed shot. Ravena managed to convert off an under-handed scoop shot to cut the Chinese lead to 2, and a jumper by Teng tied the game at 28 with 4 minutes to play in the first half.
Ravena missed a potential momentum-changing layup after a highlight-reel worthy spin move past two Chinese defenders, as China scored 6 straight points. Ravena made yet another one of his trademark underhanded scoop shots past the outstretched hand of a Chinese defender to cut the lead to 4.
It was clear that Philippines was not going to go away as Sara drew his third charge of the game on Guo Ailun as time was winding down. China held a meager 4 point lead going into the half-time break, something that had never happened before in this tournament.
The Philippines managed to answer almost every Chinese shot in the third quarter. Wang Zirui opened the third with a three-pointer and Roldan Sara promptly responded with a pull-up jumper at the free throw line.
Every time China pushed the lead to 8 points, Philippines would have an answer waiting for them, and an up-and-under by Teng at the end of the third quarter kept the game within reach as the score was 55-47 in favour of China.
However, it was evident that the height advantage of China was the deciding factor in this game, as despite the Filipino's best efforts to box-out the Chinese, the towering Chinese simply plucked the ball from above their heads.
China continued to pound the ball inside, playing to their strength, and survived the Filipino scare to win the game 85-66.
"I had been prepared for a tough game against the Philippines today. I feel my boys learnt a lot from this game, and this would be good preparation for their final game tomorrow," said Coach Fan.
"We made some defensive adjustments to deal with the Filipino penetration. My boys got nervous as this game did not proceed as smoothly as the previous games we played. Personally, I do not like games being too smooth."
The slightly disappointed Coach Altamirano said, "I have so much confidence in my boys and we go into every game believing we will win. But you have to play a perfect game to beat China, and we did not play a perfect game.
"China was just too tall for us, at the end of the day, its still height that matters," Coach Altamirano jokingly added he hoped they could find a pill so his boys could grow taller.
The Filipino trio of Jeron Alvin Teng, Roldan Sara and Kiefer Issac Ravena scored 18, 13 and 17 points respectively, combining for more than half of Philippines' points.
China's top scorer, Guo Ailun, got into foul trouble and was held to 11 points. Ju Mingxin, Zhai Xiaochuan and Wang Zirui picked up the slack and scored 18, 15 and 13 points respectively. Zhai Xiaochuan also grabbed 14 rebounds for a double-double.
Chen Hui Jing
