The Philippine Smart Gilas Team Placed Fourth in the FIBA Championship

The Philippine quest for its lost glory in the sports of basketball in Asian caging finally got a shot in arm as it charged through the semifinal round of the FIBA Championship and eventually finished fourth. The meet served as a qualifier for the single slot into the London Olympics in 2012.

The Philippine basketball quintet used to be a dominant force in the continent few decades ago and finally started to make its presence felt.

The Philippine languished in the pit of torment and defeat for the past many many years, as the passion for the sports is slowly dwindling down in the country. While the basketball suffered numbing losses, here and there, the Philippine football team stole the limelight and now steadily becoming an emerging power in Asian soccer.

But with the country’s fourth place which bristles like a medal finish is expected to usher in a new era for the sports. The country which found too much difficulty in even breezing past the quarterfinals is finally in the driver’s seat, once again.

The fourth place the country achieved means the Philippines is the fourth best team in the Asian basketball right now. Even better than performance dished out by defending and perennial top favorite Iran, also-game teams like Japan, Lebanon, Chinese-Taipei and Qatar.

The Nationals surprisingly made it to the semifinal phase and medal round of the tournament after dispatching Chinese-Taipei 95-78 in the quarterfinals. However, the team lost steam in the semifinal round as they bowed to Jordan which wielded the upset axe earlier in the quarterfinal match on four-time champion Iran. The defending champion Iran which is headed by Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Haddidi is also the one of the two Asian nations that represented Asia in the last staging of the Olympics. The Philippine next bowed to South Korea on their bronze medal match.

The Philippine team which won the championship five times last made it into the semifinals in the 1987 edition in Bangkok, Thailand. The Philippines wound up fourth as it succumbed to Japan other bronze medal match.

The Philippines is mentored by Serbian Rajko Toroman, who is responsible for steering Iran in the Olympics.  Toroman now brought his wares to the Phillippine team and his brilliance is spilling over his players.

The Philippines clobbered Gulf State powers UAE and Bahrain and lost to powerhouse China in the elimination. The Philippines swept its games in the second round bowling over Japan, Jordan and Syria.

The Filipinos heart and soul in the wooden court is perhaps, Marcus Douthit who registered a scintillating double-double average performance in the tournament.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Douthit was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2004 Rookie Draft in the NBA and played professionally in Russia. Toroman brought in Douthit way back in 2010.

Now the country is in the thick of things in the Asian basketball scene and with more international exposure and experience, may the country bring back the glory days and we hope that they will improve much further in the future and be potent threat not only in Asia but in the whole world again.

The 16th Guangzhou Asian Games in China

The 16th Guangzhou Asian Games kicked off last November 12, 2010 showcasing the vast, distinct and colorful culture of the world’s most populated country in the world which is China.

Countries from all corners of Asia are here for the conclave sending their best athletes in various sports discipline (ubiquitous and traditional), with hope that they can collar some measure of respect in the region by bagging the medals at stake or rip some existing records.

The Far Eastern countries represented host China, South Korea, Japan, Hongkong-China, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Mongolia and Macau-China boasts athletes that can perform very well even in the world stage, are the perennial favorites in capturing most of the medals up for grab. And halfway through the games, the region amassed a lion’s share of the medals. Far East Asian countries especially China, South Korea and Japan, are heavy favorites in swimming, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, dance sports, gymnastics, chess, athletics, archery, cycling, weightlifting, fencing, shooting, softball and canoeing and kayaking.

The former territories that formed Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (USSR) like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyztan and Tajikistan which comprises Central Asia are also contending for top honors in the event. The region is strong in chess, dancesports, gymnastics, cycling, boxing, athletics, tennis, football, basketball, rowing and canoeing and kayaking.

The Game’s darkhorse, the Middle East or Western Asian countries are locked for a battle and will surely make their presence felt in events like basketball, football, judo, taekwondo, and wrestling. Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kuwait, Palestine, Syria, and Jordan form the Middle East bloc.

The South Asia which is consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles are pinning their hopes in events like cricket, khabaddi, tennis, chess, athletics, shooting, weightlifting, and boxing, billiards and snooker.

Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Timor Leste from South East Asia are force to reckon with in boxing, chess, bowling, golf, sepak takraw and billiards and snooker.

The games which will end on November 27, 2010, will truly showcase the strength, wit and courage of the participating athletes from all over Asia.

China as expected is leading charge in the medal tally followed by South Korea and Japan.

Related Links:

Philippines Beat India in Fifth Round to Wrest Second Place in Asian Games

Philippines Upsets Kazakhstan in 4^th Round of Chess Competition in Asiad

2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou China

The Complete Lists of Filipino Medalists in the 2010 Asian Games

Philippines Loses to Japan in Asian Games

Smart Gilas Bronze Medal Finish Glitters Like Gold

Smart Gilas Pilipinas final push for a breakthrough was indeed startling as they hack out an impressive 107-98 victory over their early tormentor Al Jalaa of Syria to finish their Middle East caging campaign in  the 21st  Dubai International Tournament joust with fireworks and jubilation. The Filipinos wound up third and they just won for themselves a bronze medal  in a very tough field. This is indeed fitting for a country longing for a worldwide recognition that is long overdue. The win catapulted the Philippines in the Asian basketball again before throngs of Filipino workers who witnessed the game with gusto.

Marnel Baracael collected 26 points while Mark Barroca chipped in  18 of his 21 points in the last quarter for the Philippines quintet. The Filipinos made a remarkable 18 straight freethrows in the crucial minutes of the game then posted an impressive 40  points in the fourth quarter, to subdue their Middle East counterparts. Mark Barrocca’s ferocious plays truly guided the RP Smart Gilas in dismantling the Al Jalaa of Syria, black and blue as they avenged their early loss by handing the Syrian a  resounding beating in their bronze medal match. Barroca converted a trey beyond the rainbow arc that allowed the importless Filipino squad take control of the game in the last two minutes.  The desperate Syrians used hacking tactics to virtually stop the clock in their favor, but the Filipinos with nerves of steel made 18 free throws to foil any chance the Syrians have in the game.

“We’re disappointed after the loss (in their semifinals match with Al-Riyadi). But we recovered pretty well and showed mental toughness in the end,”  RP coach Rajko Toroman said.

Freethrows by Japeth Aguilar and Chris Tiu finally gave the Filipinos the lead, 78-76. Barroca then unleashed a lethal trey and Baracael converted his freethrows in the charity stripe to send the their opponents in fouling the Filipinos, after leading by six at 89-83.

Iran’s Mahram subdued Al Riyadi of Lebanon, 85-67, to bag the much-coveted crown in the finals match of the tournament. Samad Bahrami bagged the MVP  plum whilst Smart Gilas’ JV Casio captured  guard award and former Smart Gilas import CJ Giles of Al Riyadi was heralded as the best center.

Serbian coach said  “This tournament allowed us to earn the respect of the other Asian teams”. Toroman also thanked the Filipino crowd for their not wavering support to the RP quintet side.

Toroman again didn’t use naturalization candidate Jamal Sampson for the game. The Philippines lost its two previous games with Sampson not playing in the game. Instead the Serbian coach who steered the Iranian National team to the Olympics last year relied heavily on Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter and Jason Ballesteros to control the center against the taller and heftier the Syrians which is reinforced by seven-footer Zendon Hamilton, 6-foot-10 Garnett Thompson and guard Demetric Shaw. Also the formidable Syrian team also boasts three Brazilian-Syrians in 6-10 Marcelle Correa, 6-11 Eder Gorges  and Michael Maadanli, who collected 23 points for the losing Al Jalaa. The Smart Gilas team lost to Al Jalaa in its opening game, 76-90.

The Filipinos however recovered fast as they posted sweet victories over Champville of Lebanon 77-71, Zain 85-82, and Al Nasr of the UAE 79-72.

The Nationals trounced Al Jazeera of Egypt in the quarterfinals 82-78, but was beaten by the defending champion Al Riyadi of Lebanon in the semi-final.

 The Scores:

SMART GILAS 107—Baracael 26, Barroca 21, Tiu 12, Aguilar 10, Casio 10, Lassiter 9, Cawaling 9, Balesteros 4, Slaughter 4, Ababou 0.

AL JALAA 98—Maadanli 23, Correa 18, Shaw 16, Hamilton 10, Gorges 9, Al Sharif 8, Thompson 7, Meraneh 5, Papazian 2.

Quarter Scores: 18-26, 40-48, 67-

70, 107-98