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Hopefully, we'll win the next match. :) Go Pilipinas!

Philippines breaks out of scoring slump in impressive fashion, dismantles Wales by 58 points: 146 - 88.



Emerson Tapia, last week's best performer against Finland, stood at the dugout entrance while waiting for the opening ceremony to start, standing at the end of the tunnel next to him was a group of college kids, one had his face painted with the colors of the Philippine flag and the other one holding a banner that reads "Laban Pilipinas! Puso!". The Filipino had an unassuming look on his face but deep inside he knows the team was itching to bounce back after last week's disappointing loss--more so now that they're playing at home, in front of 20,000 expecting, die-hard Filipino fans.

"We're glad to be home, we're always excited and ready to play in front of the home crowd, they're our MVP and we dedicate this game to them. We have a great chance to prove to everyone that there's more to look forward to with the Philippine NT squad this season."

It was evident that Wales tried to spring a surprise as soon as the game went underway, pressing high up the court on defense, this lead to steals which resulted in 9 forced turnovers. The crowd started to become anxious fearing another upset by Wales. But Philippines did not disappoint this time, they kept their composure and came up with their own game plan to break the press that lead to a series of dunks and open layups which electrified the crowd. By the end of the opening quarter, the home team was up by 21 points.

Jesus Oh was unstoppable in all areas of the offense as he scored 25 points on 11 of 12 shooting. He made all of his shots in the paint and also stepped outside to shoot 3/4 from deep. Meanwhile leading scorer Othelo Dacoco made his presence felt mostly from range, catching fire and draining a series of jumpers including 4 of 5 baskets from 3pt land to finish with a game-high 33 points. Emerson Tapia was at his usual consistent self as he recorded another double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Owen MacUre top scored for Wales with 20 markers and mostly effective under the basket. But he struggled to convert outside the paint shooting only 2 of 6 from outside the arc. Wales swingman Jason Lawrence had to be helped off the court and replaced by Herman Mahon early in the opening quarter. Mahon scored 15 points on 6/18 FG shooting.

In summary, Wales had more quality looks but failed to take advantage, missing 38 of their 54 open shots. Their starters combined to shoot a lethargic 31% from the field.

Scores:
Philippines
Dacoco 33, Oh 25, Tapia 17, Dorola 14, Inayan 14, Tongson 14, Magalona 12, Madrigal 8, Paler 4, Ignacio 3, Libre 2, Dalida 0

Wales
MacUre 20, Mahon 15, Arthur 15, Oliver 14, Wessman 7, MacNider 6, Smith 4, Devine 3, Parsons 2, Lawrence 2, Edmunds 0, Lawson DNP-CD

Estillore's time to shine!

In related news: Siegfred Estillore's stellar PPL league form convinced NT coaches that he was deserving of a spot in the national pool. Estillore who plays PG for Pilipinas PPL team Laguna Buko Mixers has been a steady hand at the helm for coach Leo and his boys averaging 15.1 PPG and 6.4 APG, the second best assist per game average in the league. He will be called upon to fill the gap in the point guard position and will add much needed pace and ball handling while on the floor. He will be readily available in the NT game against Lebanon next week.




Last edited by Pro_Shot 🇵🇭 at 05/06/2018 12:00:05

Amazing write-up coach! 😊

Hope to have the same energy from the crowd in our game against the Lebanese. Kitakits sa live games mga idol!

Props to Laguna Buko Mixers for keeping Estillore ready. The best ka coach Leo (kahit sinisante ka ng Blackwater Elite lol).

Watch out for our next call ups, your player might be the next Estillore!

Last edited by jeorge9 at 05/06/2018 19:13:22

Salamat mga bossing... di bale malapit na din ako sisantehin ng LBM management :)

Philippines defeat Lebanon as they continue scoring in bunches, 120 - 64



Siegfred Estillore was thrown into the fire as he started at PG in his first game with Pilipinas NT. The former Pilipinas U21 standout managed his first start with confidence, contributing 11 pts and dishing 5 assists in 33 minutes of court action. He provided a welcome injection of pace and control all throughout the game, just as the coach ordered.

Jesus Oh had to be carried off the court due to injury during the opening minutes. He was fouled while going for a shot under the basket and fell hard on his back. He is currently undergoing assesment by the medical staff but initial reports says it's a minor injury. His replacement, Kirby Magalona, did more than enough to make up for it. Magalona played the entire game and had a near triple double performance with 21 points 9 rebounds and 9 assists while veteran big man Emerson Tapia recorded his 3rd double-double in 3 games with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

On the other hand, Lebanon was plagued with ice cold shooting despite keeping Philippines within striking distance at the opening quarter, 21-17, that was the closest they got the entire 48 minutes. After that, Lebanon never resembled a team with a sense of urgency to get back in the game. Philippines meanwhile kept the scoring assault going and when the dust settled, they already had an insurmountable lead by the end of the game.

Sharif Rashid Ammouri, who made a living from scoring baskets inside the paint, was the lone bright spot for Lebanon. He finished the game with an impressive double-double: 22 points and 16 rebounds. He is the only player to make more than half of his shot attempts as the rest of the team shot a miserable 16/78 (20%) from the field and missed all 10 of their attempts from distance.

The loss to Finland is now becoming a distant memory as the Philippines have now won their next two games with an average margin of 57 points. They're starting to look more like the well-oiled machine that the coaches and pundits have envisioned once they got their bearings on. Let's hope they carry this same intensity all throughout the tournament to clinch home-court advantage for next season.

Scores:
Philippines
Magalona 21, Tapia 19, Dorola 19, Dacoco 17, Estillore 11, Madrigal 10, Inayan 9, Libre 8, Tongson 4, Dalida 2, Paler 0, Oh 0

Lebanon
Ammouri 22, Zboun 11, Shraideh 10, Al-Mansour 8, El-Wazani 7, Khawaldeh 4, Hamdan 2, Majali 0, El-Masri 0, Hattar 0, El Rusan 0, Bashiti DNP-CD

Last edited by Pro_Shot 🇵🇭 at 05/08/2018 10:10:17

Thanks coach morwood! Props to boss Junnix for training Magalona really well! Almost a triple double looks like he's out trying to impress for a larger role moving forward. :P

Our schedule starts to get tougher starting next week, not to mention that we have Spain on our sched too. Haha! But as usual, we'll try our very best. All the best too on your games!

Base Offense pa ang opensa. Hahaha. Tibay. :)

Philippines suffers setback against Estonia, 111 - 90, loses Dorola to injury.


The Philippines were unable to sustain their 2-game momentum despite steamrolling their previous two opponents by an average of 57 points. Bad luck also struck as starter Amante Dorola went down with an apparent injury early in the second quarter, this is the second incident in two games that a starter had to leave the game.

Both teams exchanged gunfire in the first half but Estonia eventually pulled away with a blistering rally in the 3rd quarter. Arto Saulep and Tõnis Paju lead the charge as they brought Estonia ahead 61-82 entering the 4th. Estonia's back court scored 24 and 17 points respectively and lead the team in scoring. Allan Eha had 14 rebounds paired with his 12 points playing center as Estonia had the advantage in the boards including 15 offensive rebounds. Philippines tried to mount a comeback during the ensuing quarter but were unable to close the gap despite their efforts.

Lelard Musa, who was pegged to start at PG during the game, lead all scorers with 19 points. Othello Dacoco chipped in 15 points. Salvador Tongson, who replaced the injured Amante Dorola in the second quarter, scored 13 points but shot only 38% from the floor.

Scores:
Estonia
Saulep 27, Paju 17, Eha 12, Shishkin 12, Seier 11, Skoryukov 9, Lill 7, Taara 6, Täht 4, Zenker 4, Bardovskiy 2, Olevipoeg 0

Philippines
Musa 19, Dacoco 15, Tongson 13, Inayan 11, Madrigal 11, Tapia 9, Estillore 6, Dorola 4, Dalida 2, Oh 0, Magalona DNP-CD, Libre DNP-CD

Quarters:
20-22 41-50 61-82 90-111

Last edited by Pro_Shot 🇵🇭 at 05/16/2018 11:00:35

Hays. Bawi na lang next time. Get well soon, Dorola!