The Jordanian national team wiped the floor of Taipei’s Hsinchuang gymnasium with the Powerade Team Pilipinas yesterday, 90-59, as hostilities opened in the 31st Jones Cup. And yes, the 31-point drubbing was every bit as awful as it sounds – the only reason I watched the game all the way through is because I’m a masochist who commits to watching even the ugliest blowouts. Yeng Guiao certainly has his work cut out for him.

The sky is not (yet) falling, however, and we ought to take this loss with a grain of salt. Or maybe take two grains, for good measure. Consider:

• The players are terribly out of game shape. Most of the players are coming off long layoff. In fact, a few weeks ago, the team scrimmaged against an American team and only six guys were available to play, with the rest either playing in the PBA finals or on vacation. Some guys only joined the team again this week. These weren’t our players at their best.


• This team hasn’t had much chance to play together. This is the first PBA-backed national team since the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games that did not have the opportunity to play together full-time, and that team was made up, at its core, of players from San Miguel and Purefoods (with Johnny Abarrientos as a late addition). Between the lack of time together and their shape, this is pretty much day one of training camp for the team. They’re supposed to be terrible.


• We’ve never played well against Jordan. Not only was this the team’s first game against high-level international competition, but Jordan has had our number. In the lead-up for its stint for the Fiba-Asia championship, the Chot Reyes-coached national team played Middle Eastern powerhouse teams Lebanon, Jordan, and eventual Fiba-Asia champion Iran. Guess which team our boys never beat? Yep, it was Jordan, who also eliminated us in the first round of the Fiba-Asia championships. Jordan’s size at all positions is a matchup nightmare for us.


• Injuries have decimated the team. Guiao picked three point guards for the team: Ryan Reyes, Jayjay Helterbrand, and Willie Miller. In the team’s early tuneup games, Reyes was obviously the best fit with his ballhawking defense and open-court brilliance, Helterbrand shot well and played quality minutes, while Miller was decidedly the worst. Unfortunately, both Reyes and Helterbrand went out with hamstring injuries.
  
  The team also suffered major blow when Kelly Williams, the team’s most athletic defender, suffered a rare blood disorder, cutting short his season and thrusting Jared Dillinger into his spot. The difference between Williams and Dillinger is like the difference between Sloan and Eric’s wet blanket girlfriend from Entourage.

Speaking of which, aren’t you all glad Sloan is back in our lives? The smoking hot Emmanuelle Chriqui, after the jump.



Oh, where was I? Ah yeah, our national team. The good thing about this loss is that it provides Guiao a laundry list of things to work on for the team. The question is, will he have enough time, and will he have enough healthy horses to pull off big wins in the Fiba-Asia championship next month?