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By Roy Luarca

SHUI TOU, CHINA -- Fifth Avenue Telecoms’ fiery rally fell short Saturday night, allowing the Nanan All Stars to score a 70-67 victory in the 7th Zheng Chenggong Cup international basketball tournament here.

The loss dropped the Filipinos into a tie with their tormentors at 1-1 and left the defending champions with the tough task of sweeping their three remaining games to get a crack at the title won by the Laguna Lakers in 1999 and a FedEx-backed squad in 2003.

They will try to get back on track against Bumi Kaya of Indonesia, which is powered by national players and is unbeaten after two games, Sunday night.

In other games Saturday, Indonesia trounced Macau, 90-71, and Hong Kong dumped Singapore, 82-60, in Nanan City.

Visibly tired after arriving in this chilly marble-producing town barely three hours before the game, the Filipinos still managed to threaten at 65-64 with still a minute left behind Ronnie Zagala and Luis Palaganas.

But the taller Chinese kept their poise with burly 6-foot-8 center Xu Nan scoring on a short stab then added two free throws for 69-64 following a flubbed three-pointer by Fil-Am Michael Andre Burtscher.

Zagala, 5th Avenue’s top scorer with 35 points in a 93-91 nipping of Macau Friday, struck with a three-point jumper in the last six seconds, 69-67.

But Romel David was forced to foul Xie Ya Cai in the ensuing play and the Chinese made the front end of his free throws for the final count.

“Masyadong malamig (It’s too cold),” complained East Avenue playing coach Junnel Mendiola, referring to the prevailing 12-degree temperature. “Naninigas ang kamay namin pag naka-upo (Our hands get stiff when we are on the bench).”

The 26-year-old Zagala, a three-time national player, wound up with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists with Palaganas and former pro Braulio Lim adding 10 points each.

With springy Wen De Long at the firing end, the Chinese kept the nine-man 5th Avenue squad at bay throughout, posting their biggest lead of 45-36 midway in the third quarter.

The victory wheeled the Chinese, boasting an average ceiling of nearly 6-foot-5, back into contention in the six-team, single-round tournament.

They absorbed a 68-62 beating from a pesky Hong Kong side in the inaugural matches in Nanan City on Friday.

The 6-foot-5 forward Wen powered the Chinese with 20 points and a tournament-high 19 rebounds. Wng Xiao Dong contributed 16 points, including four triples, along with Ding Zhen Xiong.

Fifth Avenue, champion of the Millennium Basketball League, tangles with Thong Whye of Singapore Monday night before closing its stint here against Hong Kong, the 2003 runner-up of the quadrennial event, on New Year’s Day.

The scores:
NANAN ALL STARS 70 -- Wei DL 20, Wang XD 16, Ding ZX 16, Xu N 8, Xie YC 3, Zhang W 3, We CH 2, Ye CH 2, Chen YF 0.
5TH AVENUE 67 -- Zagala 18, Palaganas 10, Lim 10, Dizon 9, David 7, Mendoza 7, Mendiola 4, Burtscher 2.
Quarters: 17-15, 38-32, 50-48, 70-67


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