Gilas Cruises Versus Qatar!

I smell a set up.

The Gilas Nationals barely broke out in sweat last night as they easily disposed of Qatar, 69-52. The Nationals led from the very start, surging out to a 21-6 lead in the very first quarter.

Gilas To Play Qatar And Jordan In Tuneup!

The Gilas Nationals play the final three games in their preparation for the FIBA Asia Championship against two familiar Middle Eastern rivals...Qatar and Jordan.

The Nationals last battled Jordan in last month's Jones Cup. The Jordanians came away with a 76-72 victory after the Nationals turned the ball over twice in the last minute of play.

And while the Nationals lost to Al-Rayyan of Qatar in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup held right here at home, they've also won convincingly against the Qataris in previous tournaments.

This series of games should give coach Rajko Toroman an indication of whether new recruits Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel De Ocampo and Kelly Williams have mastered the Gilas system of play.

More on this story here.

What Is Gilas Doing Right In The Jones Cup?

In the very first day of the Jone Cup competitions, the Gilas Nationals pulled off what should be the upset of the tournament, a 73-59 victory over two-time defending champion Iran.

Then, they bucked spotty officiating and a hostile crowd by defeating the home team Chinese Taipei 90-78.

That being said, there are three things that are Gilas is doing better than their opponents:

Gilas Aiming For A Medal!

Anything less than a medal would be a disappointment. So says Gilas Coach Rajko Toroman, who believes his wards have the capability to not only get a medal but also to snare an outright Olympic slot in the upcoming FIBA-Asia Men's Championship.

But for Gilas to earn that medal, they have to get past Asian juggernauts like China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Qatar.

Gilas To Face CJ Giles-led Duhok!

They say it is the sweetest of friends that become the bitterest of enemies. I'm guessing the same goes for former naturalization candidates who get kicked off for disciplinary reasons.

CJ Giles, a one-time naturalization candidate for Smart Gilas, takes on Marcus Douthit, the man who ultimately took his place in a match more anticipated for the offcourt drama than the in-game action.

Gilas is aiming for their third straight win and a sure quarterfinal seat while Duhok is trying to avoid their a third loss that could put their quarterfinal hopes in jeopardy. Giles scored 28 points in their 12 point win to the KL Dragons, who lost to Gilas by 31 points.


Gametime is set at 8pm.


More on this story here.

FIBA-Asia Champions Cup Cast Finally Complete!

Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Those are the final two teams that will join the 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup which will be held at the PhilSports Arena from May 28 to June 5.

Saudi Arabia will be represented by Al Ittihad while Iraq will field in Duhok. Duhok stands as a representative of the Middle East region while Al Ittihad takes the place of an Eastern Asia representative.

Is Smart-Gilas For Real?

Smart-Gilas is seeking their third straight PBA win, after beating powerhouse teams Alaska and Talk N Text.

They do have an advantage with the hulking Marcus Douthit (6'10") at center while the other PBA teams have imports standing at 6'4" or less but they also have young "amateur" players who lack the experience and craftiness of PBA veterans.

However, the young guns have been showing up their elders, going toe-to-toe and ending up on top.

Could they indeed be the better team?

SMART-GILAS ENTERS SEMIFINALS!

The RP Smart-Gilas team continue to stamp their mark in the 2010 Dubai Invitational Basketball tournament b defeating Al-Gezira of Egypt and clinching a semifinals seat against Al-Riyadi of Lebanon, a team that will be led by C.J. Giles, who was thrown off the Smart-Gilas Team 3 months ago for disciplinary reasons.

This is one of the finest showings by the RP team as they have survived several Middle Eastern teames that used to terrorize PBA teams sent to international competitions.

Here is a clip of the game.

RP GILAS SOLVES JORDANIAN PUZZLE!

Has Philippine basketball found its saviors?

For the longest time, Filipino pundits have long held that the only way to reestablish our dominance in the Asian basketball scene is through the use of PBA players, widely acknowledged as the best players in the land.

But recent debacles in Asian tournaments have left basketball fanatics shellshocked as Middle East Asian teams who weren't even in the basketball scene a decade ago dispatched the Philippine pros easily.

Enter Rajko Toroman, a Serbian coach who earned international acclaim by bringing Iran's once laughable basketball team into the forefront of Asian basketball. The Iranians, under Toroman's 5 year plan, went from whipping boys to Olympic qualifiers, beating traditional giants like China, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines.

Much hullaballoo was raised over Toroman's hiring, most coming from Filipino coaches who said that the Serbian coach would not make a difference, that the European technique would not catapult the RP team into the limelight once again, that our Asian opponents' height and heft were too much, that we did not have enough Fil-Ams schooled in the NBA, that the collegiate stars who chose to play for Smart Gilas would have been role players in the PBA and that they were of no conzequence to the league...

And so Toroman, former collegiate skippers Chris Tiu, JV Casio, Mark Barroca, Jason Ballesteros, Dylan Ababou and Mac Baracael said "screw you" to the PBA and defeated a Jordanian team that proved to be too much of a Goliath for PBA pros.

Tiu scored 17 points, the Big B's (Ballesteros, Barroca and Baracael) scored 12points each while Casio and former Powerade slotman Japhet Aguilar  scored 9points each as they defeated the Jordanians with 4 American imports by the score of 85-82.

Call me crazy but I'll take this bunch of plucky, gritty, hardworking amateurs over bigheaded, me-first millionaires of the PBA. They may be the best players in the land but Smart-Gilas has proven that they are the best team in the land.