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28 March 2024

PBA Stars send Shanghai Sharks home winless

Published
By Correspondent

Relying on good timing for triples and neat passing, the stars of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) ripped the Shanghai Sharks, 80-71, in the concluding match of the China-Philippine Friendship Games, on Tuesday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, in Cubao, Quezon City.
 
The triumph completed a two-game sweep for the host, which has barely three months to prepare for the Fiba Asia Championship, in Manila, around August. 
 
Arwind Santos, a Fiba Asia veteran and co-winner of MVP in the just concluded PBA All-Star Game held in the southern Philippine province of Davao del Sur, led the PBA select squad to two-of-two for the Filipinos versus the towering Chinese.
 
“As I’ve said before, if it’s just a commercial team against a commercial team, we can compete against China, Korea and whoever,” national coach Chot Reyes was quoted on the PBA website as saying.
 
On Monday night, Gilas Pilipinas subdued the Sharks, 80-72, despite the Philippines’ national team committing lots of errors during their friendship match at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in Metro Manila’s Pasay City.
 
In their Tuesday night’s triumph against the Sharks, the PBA All-Stars dropped a 19-8 bomb capped by a triple by KG Canaleta that pushed them ahead, 74-71, with 1.36 left to play.
 
And when a triple try by Zhang Yuan rimmed out, Beau Belga and Paul Lee registered six unanswered points, sending the Shanghai Sharks packing without a win in their two exhibition games.
 
“The PBA select team used hustle, quickness and outside shooting to make up for its size disadvantage,” PBA said.
 
Reyes said it is pretty obvious that the Filipino players are talented. “We can [even] form two national teams,” he stressed. “And to think that we do not even have our players here who are playing in the [PBA Commissioner’s Cup] semifinals.”