Smart Gilas 2.0 Results: Day 2 and 3 of FIBA Asia Cup 2012

Smart Gilas vs Lebanon

Following their defeat against China, Smart Gilas Pilipinas had to face another tough competition in Lebanon in their Group A clash last September 15 in Tokyo, Japan. The first half of this game was very tight with no team breaking away from their opponent. The Philippine team even trailed Lebanon during the halftime break.

El-Khatib, Lebanon's best player, rallied the team to a lead until the third quarter wherein he scored 15 points and and grabbed 6 rebounds during the first two quarters. Their naturalized player Garnett Thompson also contributed in scoring with his own 13 points.

But Smart Gilas Pilipinas turned things around in the second half, specifically during the third quarter as Marcus Douthit took charge. He scored 10 points in the third quarter alone wherein 8 of those are attributed to putbacks. This helped the Gilas Pilipinas 2.0 squad to grab the lead, which now stood at 6, by the end of the third quarter.

The Philippine team experienced a slight scare during the start of the fourth quarter when Lebanon attempted a comeback, scoring 6 points in succession with the Philippine team having no answer. This brought the lead down to 2, 61-59. But the rest of the Philippine squad contributed shots when they mattered most, such as the likes of Gary David, Jared Dillinger, and Gabe Norwood. All in all, it was an evenly spread scoring amongst the Smart Gilas Pilipinas squad to take the win, their first in the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup.

Box Scores courtesy of AKTV:

SMART-Gilas Pilipinas (78) – Douthit 25, David 11, Tenorio 11, Dillinger 10, Norwood 10, De Ocampo 8, Fonacier 3, Chan 0, Thoss 0.

Lebanon (68) – F. El Khatib 24, Thompson 17, Akl 10, Abdelnour 8, C. El-Khatib 4, Sarkis 3, Stephan 2, Rustom 0, Tabet 0.

Quarterscores: 19-20, 38-41, 59-53, 78-68.

Smart Gilas vs Uzbekistan

The win enjoyed by the Smart Gilas Pilipinas team yesterday (Sept 15) helped to boost the team's spirit and routs their opponent, Uzbekistan, for today's schedule of games as the Group A preliminary round competition continues in Tokyo, Japan. Jeff Chan was the highest scorer in this particular game wherein he scored 20 points in total.

The Philippine team limited their opponent to only 5 points during the second quarter and hasn't looked back since. Aside from Jeff Chan's -20 points, Jared Dillinger is the second best offensive player for the Philippine team in this game and was the second player to score in double figures. His PBA teammate Larry Fonacier also joined in on the shooting spree as he opened the second quarter with his own share of three.

The Filipinos rode their momentum until the third quarter with LA Tenorio manning the play and helped control the tone of the game right off the bat. With a huge lead, this also gave coach Chot Reyes the opportunity to give some of its key players some rest and allowing the reserves to play extended minutes.

With 3 games already concluded, Smart Gilas Pilipinas is set to face Macau in their final game to complete the preliminary knockout round for Group A.

Box scores courtesy of AKTV:

SMART-Gilas Pilipinas (85) – Chan 20, Dillinger 10, Douthit 9, Rosser 8, David 7, Fonacier 7, Reyes 7, Villanueva 6, De Ocampo 5, Norwood 4, Tenorio 2, Thoss 0.

Uzbekistan (50) – Denisov 16, Juginisov 12, Kozlov 6, Rahimov 6, Yakhin 6, Nuraliev 2, Tangrikulov 2, Kadirov 0, Nabiev 0, Safarov 0, Timofeev 0.

Quarterscores: 23-16, 39-21, 63-33, 85-50.

Gilas Pilipinas Facing China on Friday to Kick Off Asia Cup Campaign

The fourth FIBA Asia Cup will kick off on Friday in Tokyo, Japan and our very own Gilas Pilipinas will be thrust into the action on the first day wherein they are set to face the team from China. Gilas Pilipinas belongs to Group A selection during the elimination round and after Friday’s game, they are expected to go head-to-head against Lebanon. For the next couple of days, they will be facing Uzbekistan and Macau.

The National team is hoping to overcome these opponents that they are scheduled to meet in an effort to reach the Final Eight. If they do make it to the next round, Gilas Pilipinas will be facing the qualifying teams from Group B.

Gilas Pilipinas are already familiar with a few of the other competing teams for the upcoming Asian Cup such as Taiwan, Japan, Iran, and Lebanon, because these teams also competed in the recent Jones Cup in which the Nationals won the gold medal.

On Wednesday, majority of the Gilas team will be flying to Tokyo in preparation for the series of competition. Sonny Thoss’ flight to Tokyo, however, is scheduled on Thursday.

After their recent successful run in the 2012 William Jones Cup, Coach Chot Reyes is optimistic about their chances in the Asia Cup. When asked about the short period of time it took until they were thrust into another highly competitive tournament, Reyes believed it will benefit the team and its training. “It’s a good a preparation for us,” the coach reveals.

As of now, it is not clear whether China will be fielding in their Olympic Team or Team B for the said match on Friday. One thing is for sure, Filipino basketball fans will have a lot to look forward to. TNT’s Jared Dillinger is also back on the helm as a national player.