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SEA Games host Thailand alters sked of RP women cagers


The schedule of the Philippine women's basketball team was altered by Thailand, host of the 24th Southeast Asian Games, apparently so that the Thai team could get a glimpse of how the Filipina cagers would play, according to coach Fritz Gaston in a statement issued on Thursday. But Gaston said there was nothing anomalous about the move. "Well, that's a prerogative that belongs to the host country. We can't do anything about that. Hindi naman ipinagbabawal yan (That's not forbidden)," he said. The RP women's team was supposed to face the Thais on Saturday. The Filipinas will now face the Singaporeans on Friday at 1 p.m. (2 p.m. Philippine time). Gaston said that the host team might want to see how Fil-Americans Melissa Jacob, Amira Issa, and Maria Anna Fatima "Fats" Tolentino would play. Jacob is a 5-foot-9 guard who played for the University of California-Irvine, Isas a 6-3 behemoth from North Carolina, and Tolentino a 5-11 center from the University of the Philippines. The Thais also earned a bye on the day the Filipinas and the Singaporeans cancel each other out before facing the Filipinas on Sunday. The Thai cagers will then rest on December 12, the day the Philippines and Malaysia square off again. This, Gaston said, would tire out the Malaysians before they faced the Thais again. Gaston didn't seem bothered, however. "What we should do is play the way we should and try to sweep the one-round tournament to assure that the gold medal will be awarded to us," he said. The other players in the women's team are:

  • Emilia Vega (team captain, guard), the girl who also presided over another RP team's SEA Games silver medal finish in nearby Chiang Mai in 1995
  • Fil-Am Victoria Lynne Brick (guard)
  • Casandra Tioseco (center) of Ateneo de Manila University, the UAAP Season 69 MPV
  • Machiko Matsuno (center) of Lyceum of the Philippines, the WNCAA MVP
  • Joan Grajales (guard)
  • Sylvia Marie Valencia (forward)
  • Diane Rose Jose (forward-guard)
  • Aurora Adriano (forward) of Far Eastern University
  • Minerva Narciza (guard) of Adamson University
"The team has never been so solid and I believe the girls have what it takes to give everybody a run for their money, including our hosts," Gaston declared. Castoffs Pipay Villanjueva, Kristine Chua, Ewon Arayi, and Chobi Borja showed no hard feelings with the change in the lineup. With an average height of 5'-9", the team is the tallest national squad the country has fielded in an international competition. The basketball matches will take place at the Keelapirom Stadium of the Suranaree University of Technology in Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand. - GMANews.TV
Tags: seagames2007
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