Webb to concentrate on keeping basketball crown<\/p>\n
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (AFP): Filipino guard Jason Webb, 21,
\nmust blot out thoughts of family tragedy to concentrate on
\ndefending the Philippines' basketball crown at the Southeast
\nAsian Games here. The Philippines plays its opening match against
\nSingapore tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Webb's older brother Hubert is in jail perhaps for life on
\ncharges of three murders and a rape he says he did not commit.<\/p>\n
Hubert Webb, 25, and six other men are accused of raping a
\nwoman in mid-1993 and murdering her along with her mother and a
\nyounger sister.<\/p>\n
His father, Senator Freddie Webb, himself a former amateur
\nbasketball star, and other family members have faced verbal
\nabuse. Jason Webb gets catcalls when he plays in both the amateur
\nPhilippine Basketball league and in the Universities Athletic
\nAssociation of the Philippines league.<\/p>\n
\"It doesn't bother me anymore,\" Jason Webb told AFP. \"I've
\nlearned to live with the abuse.\"<\/p>\n
Only the basketball gold will satisfy the hoop-crazy nation.<\/p>\n
\"Filipinos can accept defeat in Chiang Mai, but not in
\nbasketball,\" said the Philippine Inquirer newspaper. \"That would
\nbe unforgivable.\"<\/p>\n
Making the task more difficult is the fact that many of the
\ncountry's best players have migrated to the Philippine Basketball
\nAssociation professional league and are wary of playing for the
\nnational team for fear of picking up injuries that could
\ninvalidate million-dollar contracts.<\/p>\n
Coach Joe Lipa has cobbled together a team of college players
\nthat has been through a crash diet of tough matches abroad
\nagainst seven clubs in China and South Korea.<\/p>\n
\"We have a great team,\" Lipa said. \"Our main problem will be
\nourselves.\"<\/p>\n
The inexperienced team's median age is 22. But they use their
\nyouthful energy to mount a blinding motion offense and tough man-
\nto-man defense.<\/p>\n
The team's star is Marlou Aquino, a 6ft 9in. (2.06-meter)
\nbeanpole. At 23, he is the oldest on the team and will become a
\nmillionaire when he turns pro next month.<\/p>\n
Malaysia and Indonesia cannot be counted out in the seven-team
\nfield, but the Filipinos' chief rival will be Thailand, said
\nIndonesian trainer Hermansyah Bambang.<\/p>\n
Thai coach Channarong Piyawongpipul is still smarting from a
\nfive-point loss to a similar young Filipino pick-up team two
\nyears ago in the Singapore SEA Games final.<\/p>\n
\"The key to beating them is speed,\" said Channarong, who hopes
\nthe home-court advantage will be enough to win this time.<\/p>\n
His more mature team remains unchanged from 1993 except for
\nthree players. Only three Filipinos remain from the 1993 final.<\/p>\n
The outcome could depend on the fitness of 1.94m Thai center
\nOngart Homlaor, whose job is to keep Aquino away from the hoop
\nand the boards. Ongart, limping from a sprain, did not complete
\nhis team's last practice.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/webb-to-concentrate-on-keeping-basketball-crown-1447893297",
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