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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

PostHeaderIcon FIBA Asia 2011: Gilas Pilipinas nips Japan

Playing aggressive inside the shaded lane, the Nationals relied anew on the 6-foot-11 center Marcus Douthit and the outside shooting of Marcio Lassiter and Jimmy Alapag in the payoff period to beat the Japanese.

In a fitting sequel to his brilliant game against Jordan the other day, Douthit collected 25 points aside from grabbing 18 rebounds, six of which on the offensive board. He also had three blocks to highlight his all-around game.

Lassiter, in his second game together with Chris Lutz after being banned in the first round, and Alapag added 15 points apiece while forward Kelly Williams had 12 points for the Nationals.

The win hiked the win-loss record of Smart-Gilas to 3-1, giving the team a sure spot in the next round of the tournament that serves as qualifier for the London Olympics next year.

More than that, the win put the Nationals in a better position in the quarterfinals where they will face either the Taiwanese or Lebanese.

Had they lost to the Japanese, they might be pitted against Iran or South Korea.

The national team, which scattered 52 points off the paint and controlled the rebounding department, 44-31, will try to remain perfect in the second round when it closes out its second round campaign with a game against Syria Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the same venue.

“We know it’s a very difficult game, Japan has great shooters,” said Smart-Gilas Serbian coach Rajko Toroman. “Our strategy is to give space for their shooters, and force their big players to shoot outside. We’re playing better and better in this tournament.”

The scores:

Smart-Gilas 83 — Douthit 25, Alapag 15, Lassiter 15, Williams 12, Barroca 6, Casio 4, de Ocampo 4, Taulava 2, Tiu 0.

Japan 76 — Takeuchi J. 22, Shonaka 14, Hirose 13, Kawamura 12, Takeuchi K. 6, Ishizaki 5, Amino 4, Matsui 0, Takeda 0, Sakurai 0, Ota 0.

Quarters: 18-23; 34-40; 60-52; 83-76.

source: Waylon Galvez -MB

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