Qatar Ends Gilas’ Magical Run

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Qatar Ends Gilas’ Magical Run

Loses to Qatar 76-71 in Quarterfinals

by rick olivares

There was no endgame magic on this night. Not even the collective wills, cheering, and exhortations of three thousand plus people could lift the Smart Gilas RP Men’s National Team to another come-from-behind victory as Al Arabi Qatar ambushed the Filipinos’ semifinals dream 76-71 in the 20^th FIBA Asia Champions Challenge Cup at the Britama Sports Arena in Jakarta Indonesia.

The Qatari club, decimated by injuries to its roster, fielded only six players but they all stood an average of 6’6” and were of the athletic type that could play multiple positions.

Al Arabi has been relatively unimpressive in the elimination round but that was simply a part of the strategy according to the club’s Australian Coach David Ingham. “We needed to conserve the strength of our players. When said that when we make it to the quarterfinals, we would show our true character.” he said afterwards.

For the second consecutive playing day, the opposing team threw a different defense on the Filipinos as they played man-to-man (Kuwait defended with a shifting box-and-one and a triangle-and-two). Ingham put the 6’5” Maurice Hargrow on Gilas’ Andy Mark Barroca and 6’6” Joshua Jones on Chris Tiu and it once more played havoc on the RP team’s offense necessitating the early entrance of sparkplug Jayvee Casio and RJ Jazul.

The Philippines’ bench steadied the ship and Gilas’ 6’10” American reinforcement CJ Giles, who showed no after-effects from the knee strain he suffered against Lebanon, turned the shaded area into his personal playground for a team high 20 points, 18 rebounds, and 2 block shots.

But the taller Qataris kept the Filipinos in foul trouble and as a result, Gilas couldn’t find a rhythm all game long and they oft misfired from the field. The Philippines shot 46.9% from the two-point area and were horrendous at the arc shooting at 17.1%.

Although both teams committed 13 turnovers each, it was more costly for the Philippines as they came in the closing minutes with the game on the line.

“We picked the wrong time to play a bad game,” lamented Gilas coach Rajko Toroman and it showed as Al Arabi posted an 11-point lead as the coaches from six other countries watched and took notes.

The start of the second quarter saw the Philippines get untracked as Barroca finally found the degree of separation to blow by his defender, the taller Khalid Abdi. The Filipino guard scored on some big times drives while receiving a lot of help from Jazul and Giles. The two connected for a nifty lob pass that the American converted into a monstrous slam dunk that was the highlight of a 23-8 blast that propelled Gilas to a 35-29 halftime lead.

However, upon the resumption of the game, the Qataris tightened up their man-to-man defense and attacked the Filipinos’ interior. And they netted a big fish when Giles was whistled for his fourth barely a minute into the fourth quarter with the Philippines up 52-50, Ingham told his charges to renew their inside sorties. “Attack them now. They don’t have size inside.”

Al Arabi seized the opportunity as they went up by nine 61-52 prompting the return of Giles to action. With Giles back in harness, Barroca and Mac Baracael returned the favor by repeatedly driving to the basket.

When a Barroca incursion over the 6’ 6” Efran Saeed brought the Filipinos closer 67-66 time down to the last two minutes, the arena erupted into a deafening cheer. But a series of offensive miscues dampened the Filipinos’ momentum.

With time down to 33.7 seconds, Ali Ali found himself some 27 feet out with his man CJ Giles inside protecting the basket from drop passes or drives. The Qatari swingman who sometimes has to play center had been shooting terribly from the arc in the previous four matches. But for this game, he found the range as he went 4-9. Giles took a quick look and saw no one double out so by the time he rushed out – a second too late – Ali threw up his 21^st shot of the game that was all net. 70-66 Qatar.

From there, they connected on their next six free throws to five more points by the Philippines (a putback by Giles and a late three by Dylan Ababou) to end the scoring.

Al Arabi, battered and all, outscored the Philippines, 47-36 in the second half to barge into the semifinals with powerful Zain Jordan.

The Philippines has two more matches to snatch fifth place in the ten-team tournament but first Smart Gilas will once more square off with Sangmoo Korea on Tuesday at 2pm to advance once more.

Al Arabi Qatar 76 – Saeed 20, Jones 18, Ali 17, Hargrow 16, Abdi 3, Salem 2

Smart Gilas Philippines 71 – Giles 20, Barroca 16, Ababou 12, Baracael 9, Casio 7, Jazul 7, Ramos 0, Tiu 0, Ballesteros 0, Guevarra 0, Cawaling 0