The Philippines crumbled in the fourth quarter for the second straight game, allowing lightweight Japan to come-from-behind to score an 84-82 win yesterday in the 29th William Jones Cup in Taipei.

The RP quintet, assembled from the pool of millionaires in the PBA, ran into a maze of errors and missed opportunities, which the Japanese took advantage of with Yusuke Okada finally hammering the final nail on the coffin with his breakaway lay-up with a second left.

Okada's game-winning basket came after a double team on Dondon Hontiveros forced the San Miguel guard to throw a deflected pass to a Japanese player at half-court.

JJ Helterbrand's triple gave the Philippines an 84-79 lead with less than a minute left. An undergoal stab by Shohei Kikuchi made it 84-81, before Mark Caguioa's missed a floater on the other end.

Kikuchi, then, drained a triple to forge a tie with eight seconds remaining, before the frenetic finish.

The heartbreaker sent the Philippines to its second defeat in the 10-team tournament, which the nationals are using for their buildup to the Fiba-Asia Championships in Tokushima, Japan later this month.

After stunning defending champion Athletes in Action of the USA, 67-62, in its opening-match Monday, the Philippines suffered its first loss Tuesday night when Rony Fahed banked in a triple as the buzzer sounded to lift Lebanon to a 65-62 decision.

The Filipinos were in control for three and a half quarters, leading by as much as 12 points early in the final period, behind the stellar play of Helterbrand, Gabe Norwood and Kelly Williams. Ren Ren Ritualo, who did not play in the first two games, spewed fire from beyond the arc in the opening-half, firing seven treys for a team-high 21 points.

But he was used sparingly in the fourth quarter, where the Japanese outscored the Filipinos, 26-13. Negrense cager James Yap, who scored seven points against Lebanon, entered the game late in the second half and chipped in five points.

Hontiveros, who missed the potential game-winning basket against Lebanon, finished with 11 points, while Helterbrand added 10.

Kikuchi took top scoring honors with 27 points, while Okada finished with 18 points for Japan, which was composed of collegiate standouts.*CPT

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