Undefeated in two games after wins against teams that won the last two championships, Smart-Gilas today seeks a piece of the lead hoping that its big man, Marcus Douthit, is 100 percent fit, taking on Air21 in the Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.

The Nationals have displayed so far that it can really contend for the championship after rolling back Talk ‘N Text, the Philippine Cup champion, and then 2009-10 Fiesta Conference titlist Alaska in back-to-back tough matches. They will, however, be tested if ever Douthit, the 6-foot-11 soon-to-be naturalized player, becomes a doubtful starter.

Douthit was inadvertently hit above the left eyebrow in the game against the Aces last March 4 that resulted to a cut and required stitches. He failed to practice with the Nationals since then, complaining of headaches.

“It will be a very difficult game for us,” said Rajko Toroman, the Serbian coach of Smart-Gilas. “We don’t know if Marcus can play. Air21 is a strong team now because of the players they got in the trade.”

The Express lost their first game since the blockbuster trade that had the ball club acquiring Dondon Hontiveros, Danny Seigle, Dorian Peña and Paul Artadi. They dropped a 124-110 decision to the Tropang Texters in a Phoenix Fuel PBA on Tour game in Davao City.

But much improvement in chemistry is expected on Air21, which will likewise parade a new import in Alpha Bangura, a player Toroman has an idea of how he plays. Bangura replaced Jeremy Robinson.

Bangura last saw action in Lebanon with the Anibal team. The St. John’s product played there for nine games averaging 22.4 points and 7.1 rebounds.

“He (Bangura) is a very strong and athletic player, one of the best imports in Lebanon,” said Toroman.

A victory by Smart-Gilas will move it up at the top of the standings along with Rain or Shine with 3-0 (win-loss) records, already a big investment in this short tournament where there are only nine games in the opening round and with four teams to be eliminated early.

San Miguel Beer likewise will field today a new reinforcement in David Young when it clashes with Alaska in the main game at 7:30 p.m.

The Beermen and the Aces are coming off games with varying outcomes. San Miguel beat Meralco, 90-89, on a buzzer-beating follow-up from the import it decided to ship out, Ira Brown, while Alaska lost to Smart-Gilas, 91-89, in overtime.

And from the way things have been happening the past couple of days for the Beermen, Tim Cone feels they have to exploit the situation.

“This might be the best time to play San Miguel as they try to integrate a couple of key players and a new import into their system,” said Cone. “Also, we’ll see how resilient we can be as we try to bounce back from our tough loss to Smart-Gilas.”

Young, 30, last saw action in the Chinese league where he played for Jilin. In 13 games, Young averaged 22.2 points and 4.9 rebounds. He will be pitted against LD Williams, a young import who fits Alaska’s triangle offense system. Williams had 17 rebounds and 14 points in the Aces’ last outing.

Alaska, which opened its campaign with back-to-back wins before that defeat to the Nationals, will be looking to win its third game in four matches while the Beermen will be eyeing to claim win No. 2 in three starts.

Rabeh Al-Hussaini, the best player the Beermen acquired from the blockbuster trade with the Express, submitted 10 points and nine rebounds in his first game with the 18-time champion franchise. He was the starting center for the ball club and shot 4-of-12 from the floor.

Zean Macamay, Journal Online