Harbour routs Hi-Tech in SEABA Cup

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 04/05/2008 12:44 PM

Reigning champions Harbour Centre of the Philippines thrashed Thailand's Hi-Tech with a 99-63 win on the opening day of the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Champions Cup 2008 in North Jakarta on Friday.

Tang Tyrone scored 21 points, three assists and three rebounds for Harbour.

Head coach Jorge Gallent said his team did not perform its best as it got off to a slow first quarter. Luckily, they picked up their game in the second half.

"They were very tense in the first and second quarters because it was the first international event for most of them," he told The Jakarta Post.

Captain Piroon Piyapong shot nine points in the first quarter, pushing Hi-Tech in front with a 25-22 score. Their dominance was brief with their form quickly slipping, missing plenty of shooting opportunities.

"Because of their lead, I think we just gave up in the last two quarters," Piroon said, adding their strategy was to save energy for the game the next day.

Thailand's national player admitted Harbour Centre had attacked well and felt his team had played hard in each quarter.

"They were too good for our team," the 27-year-old said.

Harbour Centre has four Filipino players and two foreign players from the United States and Nigeria, while Hi-Tech, which won Thailand's King's Cup in 2005 and 2007, is made up of Thai players only.

The second game saw Indonesian champions Satria Muda Britama narrowly beat the National Basketball League team of Malaysia with a score of 88-86.

"We are proud of our team because we gave it our best up to the very last seconds. At least we were close to winning it," said Malaysia's head coach David Zamar.

Malaysia will play Hi-Tech on Saturday and Satria Muda Britama will meet with Harbour Centre. (ind)

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