Qatar sent Smart-Gilas to 4th Place in 2012 Fiba Asia Cup

The SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team lost its final assignment, 76-63, against Qatar to settle for fourth place in the FIBA Asia Cup Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

The Philippine side shot a miserable 2-of-18 (11 percent) from beyond the arc and 38 percent overall as it couldn’t sustain a second half comeback run.

SMART-Gilas was still in striking distance, 61-54, midway through the fourth quarter when Qatar unleashed hit four three-pointers in a 12-2 run to seal the game.

Marcus Douthit once again led the charge for the Philippines with 17 points and nine rebounds despite injuring his ankle in the first half. Gary David, Jared Dillinger, and Gabe Norwood added 15, 12, and 10 points respectively.

But SMART-Gilas shooters Jeff Chan and Larry Fonacier were missing in action. Chan was scoreless after missing all six of his shots, while Fonacier managed just three points on 1-of-5 shooting.

Compounding the Philippines’ misery was Qatar’s size advantage, leading to a 47-31 edge in rebounding.

SMART-Gilas got off to a quick start in the game, grabbing an 8-2 lead early after Norwood scored on back-to-back opportunities in transition.

But the team went scoreless over the next six minutes of the period, allowing Qatar to come back and take a 12-8 lead by the end of the first.

Yousuf Mohmmed opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, the first of four in the game, as the Qataris took a seven-point advantage.

Douthit then took over, scoring seven of his 17 points in the quarter, as the Filipinos came back to within two points, 24-22, with 4:13 remaining. But the naturalized center had a scary moment late in the quarter, landing badly on his ankle on a rebound play and limping off the court with the help of teammates.

With Douthit off the floor, Qatar closed the half with a 7-2 run to take a 35-26 lead at the break.

The naturalized big man returned in the second half to score the first basket of the period. With David starting to hit and Douthit continuing to be productive despite the injury, the Philippines outscored Qatar 22-20 in the third quarter to stay within striking distance, 55-48, entering the final period.

David and Dillinger kept SMART-Gilas in the game in the fourth quarter, but the breaks of the game seemed to be squarely in Qatar’s corner, exemplified by a crucial possession in the quarter where Mohmmed banked in a difficult three-pointer with the shot clock running out that gave them a 64-54 lead, with 5:41 remaining.

David answered with a basket and Norwood followed it up with a big defensive play as the Filipinos looked primed to make one more run. But Chan couldn’t score on their next possession and Khalid Abdi knocked down a three from the left corner as Qatar extended its lead.

Daoud Musa Daoud then hit a three from almost the same spot, and Abdi added another from the opposite corner as Qatar blew the game wide open, taking a 73-56 lead to effectively seal it with just three minutes left on the clock.

David hit a three of his own but Qatar’s Trey Johnson responded with a three-point play. Dillinger scored a pair of buckets but Abdi closed it with another three, Qatar’s ninth make compared to just two for the Philippines, to close the game.

Mohmmed led Qatar with 17 points while Johnson added 16.

The loss put SMART-Gilas out of the running for a top-three finish and the automatic berth to next year’s FIBA Asia Championships in Lebanon that comes with it.

The scores:

Qatar (79) – Mohmmed 17, Johnson 16, Abdi 14, Saeed 10, Daoud 7, Salem 5, El-Hadary 4, Mohammed 4, Ali 2.

SMART-Gilas Pilipinas (63) – Douthit 17, David 15, Dillinger 12, Norwood 10, De Ocampo 3, Fonacier 3, Tenorio 2, Chan 0, Thoss 0, Villanueva 0.

Quarterscores: 12-8, 35-26, 55-48, 79-63.

-InterAKTV

2012 Fiba Asia Cup , Qatar Basketball , Smart Gilas

SMART-Gilas Second Straight Victory by Dispatching Uzbekistan

The SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team barely broke a sweat in dispatching Uzbekistan, 85-50, for its second straight victory in the FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo, Japan.

Jeff Chan led all scorers with 20 points for the Philippine team, which was never seriously threatened in the game. SMART-Gilas limited Uzbekistan to just five points in the second quarter to break away for a 39-21 halftime lead before cruising to victory in the second half.

Chan, who had only managed to score five points total in the Philippines’ first two games in the tournament, had a breakout performance with 20 points, including four three-pointers, in just 18 minutes of play while Jared Dillinger was the only other Filipino in double figures. Five others players scored seven or more points for SMART-Gilas.

Chan found his touch early, firing 12 points in the first 6:05 of the game. And he did it in a variety of ways, knocking down three-pointers and getting easy opportunities in transition, as Gilas opened a 23-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Filipinos then turned the pressure up in the second behind PBA teammates Larry Fonacier and Jared Dillinger. Fonacier hit a big three-pointer to open the period, and Dillinger had two strong finishes – a difficult reverse layup and two-handed dunk – on back-to-back possessions as the Filipinos opened with 14-0 blast en route to a 39-21 lead at the halftime break.

SMART-Gilas showed no signs of slowing in the third, with LA Tenorio setting the tone early by finding Gabe Norwood wide open for an alley-oop dunk.

Chan then caught fire once again, scoring five straight points on a layup in the paint and a three. He then found naturalized center Marcus Douthit for an easy dunk. After Douthit made two more free throws to make it 50-23 for the Philippines with 6:44 remaining in the third, Chan came through yet again, hitting his fourth triple of the game to give the SMART-Gilas a whopping 30-point lead, 53-23.

With the game well in hand, the Filipinos took the opportunity to give many of their key players a rest, handing extended minutes to reserves, who pushed the lead to as high as 37 points in the fourth quarter.

Douthit, who led the team with a 25-point, 21-rebound effort in their previous game, played just a little over 14 minutes, finishing with nine points and four rebounds.

The struggles from the outside that plagued SMART-Gilas in their first two games, where they shot just 8-for-48, seemed to be past them as they nailed three of their first five attempts and finished with an 8-for-20 (40 percent) clip from beyond the arc.

SMART-Gilas wraps up its preliminary round campaign Sunday against another minnow, Macau, before proceeding to the crossover knockout quarterfinal round.

The scores:

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.

-Mikkel Bolante, InterAKTV

2012 Fiba Asia Cup , Smart Gilas , Uzbekistan Basketball

Fiba Asia Cup Live Streaming

•         Philippines versus China

              Friday, September 14, 3:30 p.m. LIVE, 8 p.m. replay

•         Philippines versus Lebanon

              Saturday, September 15, 8 p.m.

•         Philippines versus Uzbekistan

             Sunday, September 16, 1 p.m. LIVE, 7 p.m. replay

•         Philippines versus Macau

              Monday, September 17, 10:30 a.m. LIVE, 8 p.m. replay

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2012 Fiba Asia Cup , Smart Gilas

SMART-Gilas notched its First Win Against Lebanon

Naturalized center Marcus Douthit showed exactly why he’s such an important member of the SMART-Gilas national team as he dominated on the floor to help the Philippines defeat Lebanon, 78-68, in their Group A clash in the 4th FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo, Japan.

Douthit posted 25 points, 21 rebounds and one crucial block on longtime Lebanon star Fadi El-Khatib with under a minute to play as SMART-Gilas notched its first win of the tournament.

Gilas trailed Lebanon after a very tight first half that saw neither team lead by more than five points. Behind El-Khatib, who had 15 points and six rebounds in the first two periods, and their own naturalized player Garnett Thompson, who had 13 and seven, the Lebanese held a slim three-point edge, 41-38, at the halftime break.

But Douthit turned things around in the third period, crashing the offensive glass to score eight of his 10 points in the quarter off of second chance putbacks. His last two points, a pair of free throws with 23 seconds remaining in the third, gave Gilas a 59-53 lead, the largest for either team at that point.

The center had 16 points and 16 rebounds through the first three quarters.

But Lebanon issued a stiff challenge in the fourth, scoring six of the first eight points to come to within two, 61-59, off an El-Khatib triple early in the quarter. Ranidel De Ocampo scored for the Filipinos but Thompson responded with two of his own as the Lebanese looked determined to stick around.

But it was Douthit again that carried Gilas, scoring seven unanswered points and grabbing two defensive rebounds as the Filipinos opened up a 70-61 lead with just 3:29 to play.

Lebanon, though, wasn’t done yet with Rodrigue Akl and Jean Abdenour bringing them to within four yet again. Gary David scored for the Filipinos but El-Khatib found the net on the other end to make it 72-68 with just 1:09 remaining.

After a big defensive stop for Lebanon, it was El-Khatib again with a chance to cut the deficit down even further. But Douthit came up big once more for the Philippines, blocking the shot attempt and securing the ball for the Filipinos with 25 seconds left.

David hit again to push the lead up to six, 74-68, before LA Tenorio added a pair of free throws and Jared Dillinger sealed the win with a basket in the dying seconds as the Philippines grabbed their first win in the tournament.

David and Tenorio finished with 11 points apiece while Gabe Norwood and Dillinger each had 10 for SMART-Gilas.

The Filipinos outscored their counterparts 34-18 in the paint and 10-2 in second chance points.

El-Khatib led Lebanon with 24 points and 15 rebounds while Thompson finished with 17 and 11.

With the win, the Philippines tied their victims at 1-1 in Group A of the tournament. China and Uzbekistan lead the group with 1-0 marks while Macau brings up the rear at 0-2.

The scores:

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.

-Mikkel Bolante, InterAKTV

2012 Fiba Asia Cup , Marcus Douthit , Smart Gilas

China Beats SMART-Gilas in FIBA Asia Cup opener

The SMART-Gilas Pilipinas fell just short against a taller China squad, 71-68, in their opening match in the 4th FIBA Asia Cup Friday in Tokyo, Japan.

China, playing with a young team with an average age of just 20, grabbed a lead early after hounding the Philippines to bad three-point shooting and taking advantage of foul trouble on SMART-Gilas center Marcus Douthit.

But SMART-Gilas cut loose after the break, turning a 40-33 halftime deficit into a 56-54 advantage in the third quarter.

China established a double-digit advantage at 47-37, early in the third. But the Philippines responded with a 9-2 run that included a Jeff Chan three-pointer and back-to-back hits for Gabe Norwood in transition as they came to within three, 46-49.

The game was then delayed for about 20 minutes after the stadium lights went dark. The lengthy break looked to have snapped the momentum of the Filipinos, as China struck first upon the game’s resumption.

But Larry Fonacier scored on a putback and new addition Jared Dillinger hit a triple as SMART-Gilas tied the game at 51.

China took the lead back with a three-pointer but an unsportsmanlike foul by a Chinese player on Douthit swung the advantage the Philippines’ way. Douthit sank both free throws and Gary David knocked down a corner three to make it 56-54 for SMART-Gilas at the end of three quarters.

SMART-Gilas opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run to take a 64-56 lead with 6:32 to play, but China, behind national team mainstay Guo Ailun, responded with an 11-0 run of its own to take a three-point edge, 67-64, with less than two minutes left.

David and Douthit stopped the bleeding at that point, trading baskets with their Chinese counterparts. With SMART-Gilas down three points with 40 seconds left, Chan and David each missed attempts from beyond the arc.

SMART-Gilas sent Cao Fei to the line, but the Chinese guard missed both free throws, giving the Philippines another chance. But LA Tenorio and Chan missed final three-point attempts that could have tied the game.

The 19-year-old Guo, the only player on the squad who participated in the 2012 London Olympics, scored a game-high 18 points. FIBA Asia Under-18 MVP Wang Zhelin struggled with foul trouble, playing only 15 minutes but posting six points and 14 rebounds.

SMART-Gilas was led by Ranidel De Ocampo with 11 points while Douthit and Larry Fonacier finished with 10 points a piece.

-InterAKTV

2012 Fiba Asia Cup , China Basketball , Smart Gilas

PBA Support Fiba Asia next year

Top officials of the PBA are part of the Philippine delegation to the FIBA Asia Congress in Tokyo, Japan that will push for the country’s bid to host the Asian cage championship next year.

PBA Board of Governors chairman Robert Non, vice-chairman Mon Segismundo, and treasurer Ely Capacio will join league commissioner Chito Salud along with officials of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas led by president Manuel V. Pangilinan, vice-chairman Ricky Vargas, and executive director Sonny Barrios. Also part of the group is former FIBA Asia secretary-general Moying Martelino.

“I intend to impress upon our leaders in FIBA Asia that the PBA is one with the SBP in its quest to regain basketball supremacy here in Asia,” said Salud. “Unequivocal is our support of SBP’s quest to host the FIBA-Asia qualifying tournament here in 2013 and we want to make sure [FIBA Asia] secretary-general Hagop Khajirian of Lebanon gets that message.”

Under Salud, the PBA earlier committed its support to the national team by providing a pool of 16 players for the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national program. It paid immediate dividends as the latest incarnation of the Philippine team won its first international tournament, the 34th William Jones Cup, in Taiwan.

The FIBA Asia Congress coincides with the FIBA Asia Cup, where SMART-Gilas will also see action beginning Friday.

Apart from the Philippines, Iran and Japan are also reportedly bidding for the rights to host the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, which serves as qualifier to the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Earlier, the SBP hosted Khajirian on a tour of the country’s basketball facilities. He reportedly came away impressed with the new SM Mall of Asia Arena.

“I think we were the only ones who invited him to personally inspect the venue,” said Barrios. “Seeing Hagop impressed with the venue is good news for us, but we still have to make a formal presentation.”

The last time the country hosted the FIBA Asia Championship was nearly 40 years ago. Then known as the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship, the Philippines won the gold medal in the 1973 event when the team bannered by Robert Jaworski, Mon Fernandez, Bogs Adornado among others, defeated a South Korean squad led by Shin Dong-Pa in the finals.

-InterAKTV

2012 Fiba Asia Cup , 2013 Fiba Asia Championship , PBA , Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas , SM MOA Arena , Smart Gilas

Gary David Inspired with his Newest Baby Girl

With his wife about to deliver their third baby girl anytime soon, GlobalPort superstar guard Gary David is filled with inspiration in the days leading up to his stint with SMART-Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Cup.

“Excited na nga ako,” David told InterAKTV. “Dagdag motivation sa akin ito sa Japan tournament namin.”

David and the rest of SMART-Gilas will leave for the tournament in Tokyo, Japan later this week, meaning he would have just a short chance to spend time with the newest member of his family, Lian Mariah Jaylaa David.

For him, it’s one of the things he has to give up for the honor of wearing the national colors. A renowned family man, he carries his family on his shoulder literally; on his right shoulder, he has a tattoo of his family, which he kisses before every free throw attempt to send a message of love to them.

“Sanay ako lagi na andyan yung pamilya ko. They’re always at the PBA games kaya yung malalayo sila sa akin, isa yun sa mga sakripisyo ko,” he said.

“Kaming mga players ng national team, alam namin na kailangan kaming magsakripisyo. May mga times na ngayon na nag-twice a day practice kami dahil bukod sa practice sa Gilas, may regular practice din kami sa mother teams naming. Pero sulit naman yung sakripisyo, lalo na nung nanalo kami ng Jones Cup.”

The 6-foot-2 pride of Lyceum said he plans to bring the image of Lian Mariah Jaylaa with him to Tokyo to serve as inspiration and motivation.

David is expected to once again play a key role for SMART-Gilas in the FIBA Asia Cup, like he did in the Jones Cup last month, when he came through with big baskets in the clutch to lift the Philippine team.

His SMART-Gilas stint caps an impressive banner year that saw him win the Best Player of the Conference plum in the Philippine Cup after leading the Powerade Tigers to a Cinderella run to the finals. He narrowly lost the Most Valuable Player award to Mark Caguioa despite leading the league once again in scoring. On Monday, the PBA Press Corps will fete David with the Scoring Champ award, a new citation created to honor his outstanding season.

-Rey Joble, InterAKTV

2012 Fiba Asia Cup , Gary David , Global Port , PBA , Smart Gilas

2012 FIBA Asia Cup Broadcast Schedule on AKTV

Fresh off winning the 34th William Jones Cup last month, the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team steps into the battlefield once more in the FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo, Japan. Catch the Philippine team do battle against tough teams from other Asian nations!

•     Philippines versus China

    Friday, September 14, 3:30 p.m. LIVE, 8 p.m. replay

•     Philippines versus Lebanon

    Saturday, September 15, 8 p.m.

•     Philippines versus Uzbekistan

    Sunday, September 16, 1 p.m. LIVE, 7 p.m. replay

•     Philippines versus Macau

    Monday, September 17, 10:30 a.m. LIVE, 8 p.m. replay
Keep checking back on this page for updated schedules.

-InterAKTV

2012 Fiba Asia Cup , Smart Gilas