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 at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium here.
The 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
- Ryan Asis Maniago
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