Casio & Douthit send Gilas into Champions Cup semis
by rick olivares
June 3, 2011
Philsports Arena
For as long as basketball has been played, there have been the so-called “small men” and “big men” who form devastating combos. There’s the Cooz and Russ, Hal and the Stilt, as well as our very own Bernie and Abet, and the Big J to El Presidente.
If Smart Gilas Pilipinas wants to achieve its Olympic Dream, then among the many factors it must ride, there’s that deadly duo of Jayvee Casio and Marcus Douthit.
Casio rode his endgame heroics versus ASU Jordan into the win-or-go-home quarterfinals match with wounded Al Jalaa Syria (that was missing Ryan Kelly who went out in their second match of the 22nd FIBA Asia Champions Cup with a leg injury).
As the Nationals struggled with their shooting and rebounding early in the match, Casio kept his team in the game with 13 first half points. With Samaki Walker and Michael Madanly going berserk from just about anywhere on the court, Al Jalaa took a 35-20 lead following the former’s dunk at the 5:03 mark of the second quarter.
After a Casio trey and a hop-skip-and-floater over second string center Eder Gorges to bring the lead down 41-30. Douthit and Japeth Aguilar scored and the deficit was cut to a more manageable 41-34 halftime score.
More than Smart Gilas breathing down Al Jalaa’s necks, Ahmad Haj Ishak, Jamaal Miller, Gorges, and Madanly were all in foul trouble. The Syrian champions didn’t have a very deep team as they mostly relied on an eight-man rotation. With Rami Merjaneh mysteriously benched there, were fewer options for head coach Mensur Bajramovic. Walker played well and for the first time in the tournament, but the key aside from staying out of foul trouble was making sure that Miller fed them a steady diet of baskets. He could score some. He was streaky at best but he tended to disappear in long stretches. Guarding Casio and later, Mark Barroca, had somewhat taken him out of his offense. But no matter, his teammates were scoring and putting the fear of God on the Filipinos.
Over by Gilas’ bench, the team tried not to think about their missed shots and the huge lead. “If you think about it, malulula ka,” said team captain Chris Tiu afterwards. “We have to take it one stop at a time.”
At the resumption of the game, Douthit, who earlier fell time and again to Walker’s pump fakes in the lane that he parlayed into buckets, got untracked. The naturalized American scored 10 points and his tip of an Aguilar miss put the Nationals a deuce behind Al Jalaa 55-53. He also pulled down five rebounds stole one pass, and was more active on both ends of the basket causing all sorts of problems for the Syrians.
If Walker had taken him to town 16-4 in the first 20 minutes, Douthit turned the tables in the last half. He outscored a fatigued Walker (who played 38 minutes), 22-9, and helped turn the lane into a no-fly zone.
After Casio assisted Aguilar on a three-point play at the 1:37 mark of the third quarter, the 6’9” power forward-center calmly swished the free throw for a 56-55 lead. It was a lead the Filipinos would not relinquish.
Marcelle Yaqqub, Gorgis, and Sari Papazian would foul out leaving Bajramovic with fewer weapons. With 1:56 to play, Gilas had a 78-70 lead. Madanly who had been red hot earlier in the match with 14 points, returned in the fourth quarter and managed only three points. As Douthit pulled down the defensive rebound as the match’s final seconds ticked away, he let out a yell. Smart Gilas beat Al Jalaa 85-80 and more importantly, had advanced for the first time to the semifinals for the first time.
Walker was effuse in his post-match praise, “I take my hat off to a great team. they play hard. They’ve got a good coach. They rebound, run the fastbreak. As soon as they get the ball they’re running. They keep pushing, pushing, and pushing. They’re not too tall but they’re real quick.”
Added Bajramovic, “I always tell my team that it is always difficult to play a Filipino team. it is the most difficult game for my team. Why? Because they work hard and are very creative. They find ways to win together.”
And that includes the one-two punch of Casio and Douthit.
Smart Gilas Pilipinas 85 – Douthit 26, Casio 22, Aguilar 12, Baracael 6, Lutz 6, Hontiveros 5, Tiu 5, Lassiter 2, Taulava 1, Barroca 0.
Al Jalaa Syria 80 – Walker 25, Madanly 17, Miller 13, Deeb 11, Papazian 7, Yaqqub 4, Gorges 2, Haj Ishak 1, Yakoub 0
Another great game. thanks Gilas! I hope Filipinos will also give credit and support these small guyz in a big man's game(basketball). People are all crazy about the Azkals now and tend to forget about our National Basketball team. They forgot that these guys are sacrificing a lot to give us honor. Some immature people are caught up between choosing and hating one from the other because some think that we not fit for Basketball because of our size (as if size is not also a factor in football), the government and private sector are not giving attention to football and how we are the only nation in ASEAN region that doesn't love the most beautiful game. All I can say is, it will just come. You cant force it. There is a reason why we Filipinos first became in love with basketball than Football. It's because first obviously this was the sport that the Americans
ReplyDeleteintroduced to us then second we had early success in this sport not just in Asia but also the world that created a massive appeal and support from the Filipinos. As I've said earlier It will just come for our football loving compatriots, it only takes a spark, a crucial win to fuel our love for football. If the Azkals can sustain their winning ways, who knows football will become as big as basketball in the Philippines.
I love Basketball and Football, and I love Gilas as much as I love Azkals. I think these two sport can co exist or make it, all sport co exist. I hope these guys realizes this. Basta Philippines, lets support kahit anong sport.
Sir Rick, I hope you can write an article about this and so that Filipinos will be united in supporting all our athletes.