(Asian Games) PH cagers shrug off loss to Iran, scuttle Qataris
GUANGZHOU—Smart Gilas Pilipinas made up for a horrendous performance the night before with an overpowering show Wednesday.
Shamed by powerhouse Iran, 48-65, late Tuesday, the Filipinos came back to demolish Qatar, 90-68, in the 16th Asian Games at the Huangpu Gymnasium here.
JVee Casio anchored a scoring onslaught in the first half as the Filipinos built a 21-point lead entering the third period.
Skipper Chris Tiu and shooting guard Marcio Lassiter combined for 25 points while 7-footer Greg Slaughter and Asi Taulava alternated in providing several crucial stops inside the paint against the taller Qataris.
Casio scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half, which the Filipinos took at 49-28, as they outplayed a team that boasts of naturalized African players.
Smart Gilas opened the carnage with a 7-0 burst on Casio’s incomplete three-point play, Mac Baracael’s three-pointer and a backdoor alley-oop by Kelly Williams.
Targuy Ngombo, Qatar’s top scorer, and Ahmad Mohammed helped Qatar charge back but Slaughter scored back-to-back baskets for a 23-14 Smart Gilas advantage.
Tiu and Lassiter then combined with Casio for 20 points in the second quarter as the Nationals pegged the halftime score at 49-28 on a Casio buzzer-beating three.
The Filipinos will go up againt Japan Friday following today’s rest day. The Filipinos are scheduled to meet India on Nov. 21 before wrapping up the second round against Chinese Taipei on Nov. 22.
Taller, stronger and more cohesive as a unit, the Iranians handed their former coach Rajko Toroman and the Smart Gilas a terrible whipping at the start of second-round play Tuesday.
“It was my worst game as a coach of Smart Gilas,” said Toroman after the game that saw the Filipinos score only 30 points after three quarters and shoot 38 percent (17 of 45) from the field.
Smart Gilas was also soundly beaten by the Iranians in rebounding, assists, steals, points from turnovers and points in the paint.
“It started when we didn’t play the kind of offense that we’re supposed to play,” said Toroman. “That was the biggest problem.”
The Nationals scored just 10 points in each of the first three quarters, trailing 35-20 and 47-30 going into the last period behind the shooting of guard Hamed Afagh and the 6-foot-11 Hamed Sohrabnejad.
Toroman said the offensive breakdown was a result of the team’s failure to work cohesively.
“Our professional players have yet to adjust with the system,” said Toroman, referring to PBA stars Taulava, Williams and Sol Mercado.
Japan downed Chinese Taipei, 63-57, and Qatar walloped India, 97-48, in other second-round games Tuesday.
In the other group, defending champion China crushed Mongolia, 91-46; South Korea dumped Uzbekistan, 103-54; and Jordan subdued North Korea, 90-80.
The scores:
Tuesday’s Game
IRAN 65—Sohrabnejad, 11, Davari 10, Davoudi 10, Sahakian 9, Afagh 7, Kamrani 7, Davarpanahfard 6, Kardoust 5, Amini 0, Doraghi 0.
PHILIPPINES 48—Tiu 14, Williams 8, Mercado 7, Casio 6, Taulava 5, Baracael 4, Barroca 4, Lutz 0, Lassiter 0, Slaughter 0.
Quarters: 17-10, 35-20, 47-30, 65-48
Wednesday’s Game
PHILIPPINES 90—Casio 22, Lassiter 13, Tiu 12, Slaughter 12, Taulava 10, Baracael 10, Williams 6, Barroca 5, Mercado 0, Ballesteros 0, Lutz 0.
QATAR 68—Ngombo 18, Mohammed 12, Ndour 10, Musa 9, Daoud 7, Ali 4, Abdi 4, Ali Abdulla 4, Ismail 0.
Quarters: 23-14, 49-28, 68-46, 90-68
