Smart Gilas scraps its way to big win over Jordan

Smart Gilas scraps its way to big win over Jordan

by rick olivares

June 1, 2011

Philsports Arena

From the inception of Smart Gilas Pilipinas, its hallmark has been its scrappiness. In any sentence, no matter whether they won or lost, they were never lacking in effort and always big in heart.

In a match that Philippine head coach Rajko Toroman described as where their battle for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup begins, that fighting heart was once more in full display against a taller (but not necessarily deeper) ASU Jordan team whom they beat 76-74 to grab the top spot of the tournament’s Group A.

Take a gander at this stat line.

Joseph Evans Casio: 32 minutes played, 4-13 field goals on 31% shooting, 7 assists, 4 turnovers, and 2 steals.

It doesn’t look much when you know what the diminutive guard can do. But if you watched the match, Casio scored six points in the final 2:40 including a floater in the lane over ASU Jordan center Jameel Watkins who tried his darned best to block the shot. Two of those four field goals made came in the clutch with the Jordan breathing down the locals’ necks following forward Zaid Abbas’ two clutch free throws (he shot 10-11) to put them behind 66-65.

And there’s Mac Baracael. He stands 6’4” and plays the power forward position. He is an undersized power forward and that seems like an understatement when stacked against Jordanian counterpart Islam Abbas who is two to three inches taller and double in width (or girth).

With Marcus Douthit tabbed with four fouls and ASU up 60-55, Baracael sandwiched a trey and two free throws between a Dondon Hontiveros triple. The former FEU Tamaraws’ second free throw gave Smart Gilas a 63-62 lead they would not relinquish.

In the game’s final 14 seconds, the Filipinos showed too that they were clutch as Marcio Lassiter, Casio, and Chris Lutz made six free throws because they needed everyone of them as Jordanian internationalist Sam Daghles rifled in two treys. Unfortunately for ASU, they ran out of time as Gilas went undefeated for the first time in group play.

The win puts them in a prime position as they play on Friday (6pm at the Philsports Arena) Al Jalaa Syria that has only one win in four matches. The Syrian champions have been put at delicate situation given the events in their homeland. Said Lebanese guard Omar El Turk whose Al Riyadi team put the big hurt on Al Jalaa 86-73 despite playing only their second unit, “I have to give credit to those guys. They’re over here trying to play ball when they left their families behind and there’s all this unrest and threats of war in Syria.”

The match between the Philippines and Jordan, the best played one in Group A play, saw a titanic battle waged inside the paint as both teams scored one-third of total output from close range. Jordan’s American reinforcement (and one-time PBA import) Jameel Watkins and Gilas’ Douthit put on display their entire repertoire of shots from spin moves to sweeping hooks, to put backs, medium range shots, fade aways, and slams on one another.

Watkins scored a game high 25 points and had 7 boards and 2 steals while Douthit finished with 14 points, 7 caroms, 1 assist and 1 block. Gilas' Dondon Hontiveros' celebrating his 34th birthday, knocked down 6-11 three point shots to pace the nationals with 23 points.

Despite the size disadvantage, Gilas equaled Jordan’s board work by pulling down 46 boards. But it was the Philippines’ bench (25 points to the 6 of ASU) and speed that proved to be an advantage.

ASU’s Nigerian coach Frederick Oniga (who wears a different Major League Baseball cap to every game) paid tribute to Gilas after the match when he said, “They have good speed, their three-point shooting is very accurate, they have a lot of weapons, they don’t have much size but they keep you from playing your game.”

Smart Gilas 76 – Hontiveros 23, Douthit 14, Casio 12, Baracael 9, Barroca 6, Taulava 4,  Tiu 4, Lassiter 2, Lutz 2, Aguilar 0.

ASU 74 – Watkins 25, Abbas 20, Daghles 17, Hadrab 6, Al Sous 4, Soobzokov 2, Islam 0, Alwadi 0.