Smart Gilas Spanks Al-Ittihad, 101-69!

Asi Taulava and Marcus Douthit warming up

When the Saudis trotted out a lineup that looked big and powerful, everyone in the Philsports Arena took a big gulp. Japhet Aguilar looked positively thin opposite Serbian reinforcement Vladislav Dragajlovic while JV Casio and Chris Tiu were dwarfed by the stocky Saudi guards.

Then, in the very first play of the game, Tiu delivered a perfect alley-oop pass to Aguilar, who slammed the ball home. That set the tone for the game as the Gilas players played aggressive basketball to cop their first win in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup.

Chris Tiu on defense

Al-Ittihad actually kept pace with Smart Gilas in the first quarter, giving up a 3 point lead. But then, Japhet Aguilar caught fire and drilled 4 straight mid-range jumpers plus another alley-oop dunk to up the Gilas lead to 14 by halftime.


Aguilar picked up where he left off in the third quarter by blocking 2 shots and slamming home a fastbreak dunk in traffic. By then, Al-Ittihad looked shellshocked and uncomprehending, seeing a manageable 14 point deficit balloon to 22 points.

The final score

Marcus Douthit also played well, logging 18 points, while Marcio Lassiter, Mac-Mac Baracael, JV Casio and Chris Tiu played the role of outside gunner.

My Game MVP: Japhet Aguilar. 20points on 10-11 shooting, tons of rebounds, 2 blocks, demoralizing alley-oop dunks...Al-Ittihad will be having nightmares about him for a long time. 

More on this story here.

The Sportster Junior in our ringside seats!