Instead, they turned to the potent offensive duo of JV Casio and Marcus Douthit and the smothering defense of Chris Tiu (?!?!), Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz to stage a come-from-behind win over Al Jala'a of Syria.
The Nationals had a hard time neutralizing Samaki Walker and Michael Madanly in the first 3 quarters, with Walker scoring 23 points and Madanly scoring 20. Then Gilas buckled down on defense and Walker found himself with only 2 pointss in the payoff period while Madanly also scored 2 points off 2 freethrows.
Marcus Douthit had a monster game, logging 26 points and 12 rebounds, with Japhet Aguilar providing ample support with 12 points and 7 rebounds. But it all started with JV Casio, the Human Dynamo who pumped in 22 points, dished out 9 assists and orchestrated the Gilas offensive set like a maestro.
Gilas has now reached its highest place since 1996, when Hapee Toothpaste won the tournament. They go up against Mahram of Iran tomorrow, for a place in the Finals.
Congratulations, Gilas!
Game stats here.
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