Smart Gilas Pilipinas collapsed under the weight of Al Wahda’s three-point shooting and bowed to the Syrians, 89-91, Tuesday in the 22nd Dubai Invitational Tournament. The defeat was the second in four matches for the Nationals, who consigned themselves to a No. 3 ranking in Group B and a quarterfinal showdown with Group A’s No. 2 Hoops of Lebanon.
Al Wahda’s three imports combined for 60 points and mocked the Filipinos’ defense in the last two minutes with three consecutive triples.
“It was tough,” said Smart Gilas assistant coach Jude Roque. “The three imports hit three straight treys in the last two minutes.”
Marcus Douthit, the Nationals’ candidate for naturalization, unloaded 24 points and pulled down 14 rebounds while JV Casio had 17 points despite nursing a fever.
Smart Gilas, however, hardly found a solution to contain Al Wahda’s imports in the 10-day tournament featuring the best club teams in the Middle East.
“We’ll be having another one-day respite to think about what happened and to plan our quarterfinal game,” said Smart Gilas team manager Frankie Lim.
Smart Gilas finished third in the same tournament last year where Casio was named best guard.
Head coach Rajko Toroman wants nothing less than a championship appearance this year.
June Navarro, Phil. Daily Inquirer
