Aug 16, 2018

Pringle, Erram splendid in Asiad debut

TWO of the players Yeng Guiao coveted the most for inclusion in the Philippine men's basketball team delivered in their debut game in the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.

Stanley Pringle and JP Erram did their share in the Filipinos' 96-59 win over Kazakhstan in their opening match Thursday at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex Basketball Hall.

Pringle led all scorers with 18 points, while Erram added five as part of Guiao's starting unit against a Kazakhstan team whose offense was obviously disrupted by the nationals's defense from the get-go onwards.

The 30-year-old Pringle went 6-of-9 from the field and set the tone for the team when he hit a corner three-pointer right in the Filipinos' first possession of the game. He also added four rebounds and two assists.

Erram, the 6-foot-7 center of Blackwater, meanwhile, also hit a three-pointer and had two out of the team's 12 steals.

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But Pringle stressed it was more of team play that helped the Filipinos breezed to the 37-point win and on top of Group D where they are also bracketed with powerhouse China.

"We all played a hard team game. We all played together," said the Fil-Am guard of Globalport, who previously suited up for the Philippines in the last FIBA 3x3 World Cup, but is playing in his first 5x5 basketball tournament with the national team together with the 6-foot-7 Erram.

"Coach Yeng wants us to play together, he wants us to jell on and off the court. We've been doing that the whole time. We just put that together, come out there on the court and execute," said Pringle.

The rousing win put one of the Filipinos' foot in the quarterfinals as they next tackle China on the 21st (Tuesday), where they get a much needed help following the arrival of NBA Fil-Am player Jordan Clarkson.

The Cleveland Cavaliers guard went straight from the airport to the playing venue, arriving at the tail-end of the third period and the Filipinos already comfortably ahead.(RG)

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