HAT YAI, Thailand – Johnny Chua, Sonny Co, and Conrad Siy delivered key baskets down the stretch as Filipino-Chinese Veterans Basketball Association (FCVBA) 65-and-over team downed Miri, Malaysia, 42-37, to sweep the group elims in the 27th ASEAN Basketball Veterans Tournament on Wednesday at the Prince Songkla University gym.
After struggling in the first three quarters, Co found the right time to redeem himself as he buried a huge three-pointer to tie count at 37-all. Chua then split his pressure-packed charities before Siy hit a putback for a 40-37 lead.
Chua, who finished with 13 points, finally sealed the deal with a courageous basket down low with barely 12 ticks left.
“It was a tough win,” said Terry Que of Rain or Shine, who bankrolled FCVBA’s participation in the annual tournament along with Freego’s Eduard Tio and Ironcon Builders boss Jimi Lim.
Siy led all FCVBA scorers with 16 points while former Crispa enforcer Bong dela Cruz and James Chua provided the intangibles as the 65-and-over team arranged a semifinal showdown with Group B second placer Sarawak – another team from Malaysia – on Thursday.
The thrilling win of the 65-and-over team overshadowed the swinging sixties' 58-38 thumping of Miri.
Unlike in their first two games where former Philippine team standout Elmer Reyes and ex-La Salle star Kenneth Yap dominated the show, the 60-and-over team got solid contributions this time from Danny Ching, Aries Franco, Jose Lao, Andrew Ongteco, Elmer Latotio and Ramon Mabanta.
“We moved the ball pretty well this time and everybody stepped up,” said playing-coach Eduard Tio.
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