RP five fails to reach finals

TEHRAN - San Miguel-RP team bowed anew to Syria's Al Jalaa 109-77 Saturday to see its magical ride end in the 18th FIBA Asia Champions Cup at the Azadi Stadium.

The Nationals won over Bahrain's Al Muharraq just to make the quarterfinals and upended heavy favorite Blue Star of Lebanon to crash the semifinals. But sheer guts and grit will not tide them over this time. As a result, the Filipinos were relegated to the battle for third place against Qatar's Al Rayyan at 4:15 p.m. (8:45 p.m., Manila time) Sunday at the close of the eight-nation tournament.

"We feel really bad, but at the same time we're determined to salvage third," said RP coach Chot Reyes.