By REY C. LACHICA
HANGZHOU, China – The Philippines produced what could go down as one of its greatest basketball wins in the history of Asian Games with a tense-filled 70-60 victory over Jordan Friday, Oct. 6, at the Hangzhou Olympic Gymnasium here.
Jeered and all, Gilas worked behind its nifty plays plus a rock-solid defense in the final half to finally capture the gold medal that every Filipino desired to win since a series of misfortunes befell every PH team formed in the past.
But this title win was perhaps the sweetest of them all after being formed barely two weeks before the continental showpiece started on Sept. 23 at this ultra-modern city – big thanks to a maestro of a coach in Tim Cone.
Heroes came in different sizes for Team PH as Ange Kouame, Justin Browlee, Scottie Thompson and Chris Newsome played their hearts out almost the entire game to end the country’ds hunger for Asian basketball glory.
So after the final buzzer sounded, the Nationals, along with the team officials, led by San Miguel Sports Director Alfrancis Chua and PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial whooped it up at the center court –– all emotional with the win that came 61 years since the country last triumphed in the sport very close to Filipinos.
Even those in the bleachers celebrated with glee while some home fans, who earlier seen cheering for the Jordanians, eventually gave the Nationals the respect they deserved by standing and clapping for them.
Chants of “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas” alsoechoed inside the coliseum while PH supporters proudly waved mini PH flag.
It was the country’s 5th gold and 8th overall since ruling the first four stagings of the event – the last in 1962, a team then spearheaded by the great Caloy Loyzaga and Kurt Bachmann.
Bachmann’s son, Richard, who is now the chairman of the Philippines Sports Commission, also witnessed the historic moment.
The last time Team PH won a medal – a bronze – came in 1998 Bangkok edition when the Centennial Team, also handled by the revered Tim Cone, beat Kazakhstan, 73-68.
Again, it was Brownlee who led all scorers for Team PH with 20 points, but the one who nailed the telling ones was Kouame, who tallied 14, the bulk of them came in the fourth period that enabled them to pull away for good.
The host nation, meanwhile, vented all its frustration from its stinging defeat to the Philippines by clobbering Chinese Taipei 101-73 for the bronze medal, a finish that denied the Mainlanders a shot at a ninth Asiad basketball gold medal from 1978.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had an awful first 10 minutes, going 1 of 9 from the field but still finished with 24 points. He tried everything he got in order to help Jordan win the match but was unsuccessful.
It was a big day for Team PH as jiu-jitsu star Annie Ramirez triumphed against familiar foe early in the day.
Executing her master plan to near perfection, the 33-year-old Ramirez beat Kazakhstan’s Galina Duvanova, 2-0, in the final of the women’s 57-kilogram, a victory she considered as one of her finest in her sporting career.
In all, Team PH now has four gold medals, matching its feat five years ago in Jakarta. It has 2 silver and 12 bronze medals.
In clinching the gold, Ramirez won all her four matches by sheer superiority, starting with Le Thi Thuong of Vietnemese in the first round, Fiona Toh of Singapore in the quarterfinals and Shamsa Alameri of the United Arab Emirates.
“I am so happy with this win, I really work hard for this,” said Ramirez, who bided her time before overpowering her 5-foot-7 rival with a sweeping move during their 5-minute contest.
Though she was pinned to the ground most of the time, Ramirez said it was part of her game plan before making a daring move in the last minute.
“I was down for most of the match but I had the control, at alam kong anong oras ako gagalaw,” said the teary-eyed Ramirez.
Ramirez’s victory came a day after Margarita “Meggie” Ochoa reigned supreme in the women’s -48-kilogram final.
Earlier, Kaila Napolis bagged the bronze in the women’s -52kg after pulling off a stunninng 2-0 win over World Championship veteran Hessa Alshamsi of the United Arab Emirates.
That made the jiu-jitsu association the most successful team so far with two gold and one bronze medals, underscoring its rise as one of the country’s top medal producers.
It even outshone boxing who managed only one silver medal courtesy of Eumir Marcial on Thursday night.
But Marcial’s defeat was clouded by controversy although he accepted his fate graciously.
The PH sepak takraw bets lost to the Malaysians, 2-0, but still secured the bronze.
Ramirez’s victory was a redemption of sort as she suffered anxiety after losing in her first match five years ago.
“Halos di ako makatulog noon, nagka-anxiety ako dahil I was one of the favorites only to lose in my first match,” recalled Ramirez, who stands to receive P3 million – P2 million from the Philippine Olympic Committee and another P1 million from the Philippine Olympic Committee.
It was Ramirez’s third win over Duvanova in four bouts, but judo icon and now jiu-jitsu coach Johh Baylon said that lost hardly mattered at all.
