By REY LACHICA
HAT YAI, Thailand – The reign of Filipino-Chinese Veterans Basketball Association (FCVBA) in the ASEAN Basketball Veterans Tournament came to a disappointing end Friday at the Prince Songkla University gym here.
Already heartbroken after losing their titles in the 50-and-above by forfeiture and in the 65-and above following a shock semis loss, the 60s suffered their worst defeat in almost a decade after bowing to Pontianak Meteors (Indonesia), 86-69.
The FCVBA dribblers were in the thick of the game in the first two quarters but they huffed and puffed, and worst misfired in the final half that shattered their four-peat bid.
Meantime, the 65s consoled themselves by repeating over Miri of Malaysia, 47-37, to finish third – thanks to the efforts of of Conrad Siy, Bong dela Cruz, James Chua, Johnny Chua, Terry Que and Achit Kaw.
The 60s played none of the brilliance that saw them average a whopping winning margin of 17.25 points in their first four games as typified by their awful shooting, including from the free throw area.
The Indons, who played only two games in the elims, took a sizable 64-47 lead going into the payoff period after outscoring the FCVBA dribblers, 21-11.
Even former Philippine team star Elmer Reyes struggled offensively as fatigue finally caught up with him after leading the team to a three-game sweep of their group elims. He suffered mild cramps in the team’s 72-63 win over the host team in the semis last Thursday.
Ex-La Salle star Kenneth Yap, Danny Ching, Aries Franco and Elmer Latonio also fared badly for the team backed by Rain or Shine’s Terry
Que, Freego’s Eduard Tio and Ironcon Builders’ Jimi Lim.
In sharp contrast, the Indons shot respectably from the field as they moved the ball pretty well.
It marked the first time in four years that FCVBA will be going almost empty-handed.