18th Super Kung Sheung Cup International Basketball Invitation Championship

[kerouac82]

Just got word that Ateneo + Adamson beat the Thai NT 83-63 tonight.

[Mr. Basketball]

any update on the india vs hong kong game?

[ZIMATAR]

Ateneo-Adamson Philippines wallops Thailand National Team, 83-63

The Philippines, represented here by collegiate champions Ateneo de Manila University and reinforced by four players from rival Adamson University, overwhelmed the Thailand National Team, 83-63, at the 18th 3D-Gold Super Kung Sheung Cup held at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong.

King Eagle heir apparent Kirk Long and Adamson Falcons stalwart Julius Colina, who just a week earlier were at each other's throats at the 2010 PCCL Championship in Manila, joined forces in dismantling the Thai defense with their inside-outside game and well-oiled plays. The duo topscored for the Philippine side with 20 points apiece, with Bacon Austria of Ateneo providing able back-up with 10 points.

After a slow start that saw the Thais erecting a short-lived, four-point lead in the first quarter, 19-15, the Filipinos tightened the screws on defense to build a 36-26 lead at the half.

Long then teamed up with Adamson arch-rival Alex Nuyles in slamming the gas pedal at the start of the third canto, as they outran, outgunned and outfoxed their opponents en route to a 61-45 cushion entering the fourth quarter. Nuyles, who struggled in the first half, wowed the predominantly Hong Kong crowd with a breakaway slam off a Kirk Long feed.

Thai pivotman Thonchai Thippayaprapai and gutsy forward Darongpan Apiromvilaichai were the lone bright spots for Thailand, scoring 14 and 11 points, respectively.

A sizeable Filipino contingent among the audience expressed optimism at the Philippines' chances here, especially after a disappointing finish by the CESAFI All-Stars in the 2008 edition, which saw a collegiate selection from Cebu bannered by 6'10 behemoth Junmar Fajardo, getting whipped by host Hong Kong, 100-61, in the finals.

The coaching staff, however, are wary of the size advantage of the other teams, particularly the two club teams from China and the Southern California Fukienese Association, bolstered by athletic African-Americans and youtube sensation David Kalb, renowned for beating Lebron James in a game of H-O-R-S-E.

The Ateneo Blue Eagles, three-peat UAAP Champions, earned the right to represent the Philippines in the tournament by beating the Adamson Soaring Falcons at the recently concluded PCCL Champsionship in Manila. Interestingly, Adamson loaned four cagers to bolster Ateneo's roster here after key players from the Ateneo side had begged off for academic reasons.

The Philippines next takes on the GCC Group and Xin Cheng Holdings basketball teams of China, hoping to land in the top two in their group to break into the semifinal round.

PHL - Long 29, Colina 20, Austria 10, Alvarez 8, Dela Cruz 6, Sumalinog 6, Nuyles 4, Erram 4, Salva 3, Camson 2, Golla 0, Tiongson 0

THA - Thongchai 14, Darunpong 11, Darongpan 10, Kittipot 9, Thansith 4, Paramet 4, Kittisak 4, Suttiket 3, Sakgarin 2, Pongsago 2

- Ryan Asis Maniago

[greenarcher]

The ABL players are not playing? There's a Thai shooter right? Piyapong Piroon?

[kaiziken_pinas]

The ABL players are not playing? There's a Thai shooter right? Piyapong Piroon?

Darunpong 11, Darongpan 10

these dudes played for the Thai ABL team last year. they're brothers.

[Joe Yabuki]

the Kraken has a lot of testosterone - the hormone of aggression - look at his hand, his ring finger is longer than the index finger. thats the warning sign of a Kraken. the pictures show him jumping all over the court with his long arms covering the sky.

Seriously, google about testosterone, index and ring finger and you will see what i mean

OT:
A good tip if you are hooking up with a girl, look at her index and ring finger.

[cobblerpie]

Complete Blue Raptors lineup:

Lester Alvarez
Juami Tiongson
Kirk Long
Oping Sumalinog
Alex Nuyles
Bacon Austria
Arthur dela Cruz
Poy Erram
Nico Salva
Julius Colina
EJ Camson
Frank Golla

Both Coaches Norman and Leo are with the team.

[greenarcher]

That roster has a decent starting 5 but has a very shallow bench; and they have few shooters. Would have been great if Salamat joined the team.

Starting 5 would probably be:

G - Alvarez
G - Long
F - Nuyles
F - Salva
C - Colina

6th Man - Camson

[greenarcher]

Philippines beats GCC Group 78-73; will face Xincheng Group tomorrow at 7pm.

[cobblerpie]

I agree with that lineup, but personally I'd go with Golla at the 4 and Colina at the 5 while Salva comes off the bench with Camson. If Colina can work that midrange game he showed in the PCCL -- signs point to yes after scoring 20 vs Thailand -- it should create some opportunities in the lane vs bigger players. Defense would be another issue. Though Erram and dela Cruz play decent help D, Colina and Golla as the writeup mentioned will have to bear the brunt of man to man post defense.

[ZIMATAR]

Ateneo-Adamson 'Blue Birds' soar over GCC of China, 78-73

HONG KONG - Philippine collegiate powerhouses Ateneo de Manila and Adamson University barely scraped by the towers of China's GCC basketball team but prevailed at crunch time, 78-73, in a highly physical and heart-stopping ballgame at the 18th 3-D Gold Super Kung Sheung Cup at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium here.

Blue Eagles Kirk Long and Bacon Austria, together with Adamson standout Lester Alvarez, came through with clutch plays in the final minute to cap the Filipinos' come-from-behind rally, fearlessly attacking the rim despite the superior height of the Chinese.

Long, who was limited to 2 points in the first half, scattered 15 points in the second half and took charge in the fourth quarter, where he teamed up with Alvarez in orchestrating the Philippine attack.

Bothered by China's length and quickness, the Filipinos played catch-up for most of the game, conceding rebounds and second- and even third-chance points to GCC, which led 37-31 at halftime.

Spitfirish 6"3' forward Shang Lei of GCC also torched the Filipinos with 19 points in the first half en route to a game-high 38 points, firing threes at will and driving hard at the basket despite the hard-nosed defense of Long and Alex Nuyles. At one point, the Chinese seemed poised for a blowout win.

But the Filipinos would have none of it. Showing tremendous spirit, they patiently chipped away at the lead in the third quarter behind the playmaking abilities of Long and Alvarez, who won over the crowd with their derring-do penetrations and unselfish kick-outs, to the approving eyes of legendary coach Norman Black and sports patron-businessman Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP), who cheered from courtside.

Things nearly came to a head in the fourth quarter as 6"8' GCC center Yao Peng, apparently frustrated over the Filipino onslaught, started hacking away at anyone who came his way.

Surprisingly, the mostly Hong Kong crowd rooted for the Philippines, joining pockets of Filipino fans in chanting "defense" and rallying behind the Blue Birds against their Mainland compatriots -- perhaps proof that in the game of basketball, a fighting heart can erase all boundaries.

So-called the "Blue Birds" in reference to the two schools' monickers in the UAAP -- the Blue Eagles and the Soaring Falcons -- the Filipinos have virtually crashed into the semifinal round and will next face China's Xin Cheng Holdings basketball team to determine its group seeding.

PHL 78 - Alvarez 21, Long 17, Salva 11, Austria 8, Camson 8, Nuyles 4, Colina 3, Dela Cruz 2, Sumalinog 2, Erram 2, Golla 0

GCC 73 - Shang 38, Jiang K.Y. 9, Wang L.M. 5, Li J. 5, Li Y. 5, Hu B. 5, Tang H.J. 4, Zhang Z. 2

- Ryan Asis Maniago

[greenarcher]

Blue Birds lose to Xincheng Group 72-80; will face the USA team on Saturday.

If they lose they can still bag 3rd place in the battle for third.

[erektus]

Ateneo-Adamson 'Blue Birds' lose heartbreaker, 91-85, win hearts

Ateneo-Adamson 'Blue Birds' lose heartbreaker, 91-85, win hearts http://bit.ly/hJiPst

HONG KONG - The boys of Ateneo de Manila and Adamson University came to within a heartbeat of completing a giant come-from-behind upset against tournament favorites Southern California Fukienese Association (SCFA) but fell short, 91-85, at the 18th 3-D Gold Super Kung Sheung Cup held a the Queen Elizabeth Stadium here.

The erstwhile undefeated SCFA, a US-based team featuring tall, athletic African-Americans, found its match in the feisty Filipinos, who gave them their first real scare in the tournament -- magically erasing an 18-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter behind the heroics and Adamson's Alex Nuyles and Ateneans Kirk Long and Nico Salva.

Nuyles was unleashed in the final quarter and played like a man possessed, electrifying the crowd with an array of breakaway dunks including an in-your-face, and-1 tomahawk slam over 6'7 Jerome Moton that ignited the rally and elicited a thunderous roar among the audience rarely seen in prim-and-proper Hong Kong.

The game started close, with Salva drilling in 13 points in the first quarter and drawing oohs and aahhs with his Kobe-esque post moves against defenders who were 5-6 inches taller. The Americans managed to shut him down in the second quarter and dominated the boards, which enabled them to score second- and third-chance points against the smaller Filipinos to build a 53-38 cushion at halftime.

SCFA, behind the bullying tactics of 6'7, 115-kg 'Baby Shaq' Tarron Williams (200-F-76, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.) and 6'9 Robert Curtis, continued to pound the ball inside in the third quarter and managed to fend off repeated rallies by the Filipinos, piling up leads as high as 21 points entering the final canto.

The fourth quarter was all heart. With a potential blowout staring them in the face, the 'Blue Birds' refused to fold and staged one big fight that gave the Americans a run for their money and which won over the hearts of local Hong Kong and Filipino fans alike.

Long, who once again provided a steadying presence in the backcourt together with Adamson's Lester Alvarez, scored a game-high 24 points, including clutch threes in the final minutes. Nuyles and Salva each added 20 points.

The rotund and deceptively menacing Williams, on the other hand, provided much comic relief with his on-court antics and topscored with 18 points for the winning side together with youtube sensation David Kalb.

After the game, the Filipinos were mobbed by a small crowd of local fans that had assembled outside the stadium and who gamely posed for photographs with their newfound idols -- once again -- proof that there is as much respect to be gained from winning as there is from going down with a fight.

The 'Blue Birds' will face the Hong Kong National Team in the battle for third place, while China's Xin Cheng Holdings basketball team, which earlier beat Hong Kong, 72-59, will square off with SCFA for the championship.

SCFA 91 - Williams 18, Kalb 18, Mark 13, Moton 12, Goodrich 11, Curtis 11, Yeung 6, Erikson 2

PHL 85 - Long 24, Nuyles 20, Salva 20, Alvarez 8, Camson 7, Colina 2, Austria 2, Dela Cruz 2

From Asia-Basket.com

Blue Birds lose to Xincheng Group 72-80; will face the USA team on Saturday.

If they lose they can still bag 3rd place in the battle for third.

[greenarcher]

At least they fought hard... 6pts is not a bad thing considering they are just collegiate players against African-Americans.

[fthesaint]

At least they fought hard... 6pts is not a bad thing considering they are just collegiate players against African-Americans.

I think this is an advantage of playing against and being exposed to taller and heftier foreign players on a more regular basis in our collegiate leagues.