PH five drops heartbreaker to Japanese

GUANGZHOU—JVee Casio again had the chance to shine for Smart Gilas Pilipinas but missed this time.

Casio’s running jumper off the glass in the dying seconds bounced out, allowing Japan to escape with a 60-58 squeaker over the national five late Friday night in the 16th Asian Games basketball tournament at the Huangpu Gymnasium.

Casio, who had a stellar performance in the victory over Qatar, raced down the floor with 5.9 seconds left after 6-foot-9 Kosuke Takeuchi had flubbed his second free throw, but luck ran out on Smart Gilas.

It was the second defeat in three games for the Filipinos, who need to win over India Saturday night and Chinese Taipei on Monday to assure themselves of a quarterfinal seat.

The group rankings in the crossover quarterfinals will also depend on the outcome of Qatar’s (2-1) last two games against Japan (3-0) and Iran (2-1). Chinese Taipei (1-2) could still be in the hunt if it wins over Iran and Smart Gilas.
“It’s difficult but we’ll try to fight for the 

No. 3 position,” said RP coach Rajko Toroman, noting that finishing third in the group would most likely set up a quarterfinal clash with South Korea.

If the Filipinos finish No. 4, they face the prospect of meeting powerhouse and defending champion China in the quarterfinals.

China (3-0) and South Korea (3-0) will face each other today with the winner expected to top their group, which includes Jordan (2-1), Mongolia (1-2), Uzbekistan (0-3) and North Korea (0-3).

“On one side, the situation could work out fine. Perhaps it’s better to have them (Koreans) in the quarterfinals,” said Toroman.

If Qatar loses against Japan and Iran, Smart Gilas could end up at No. 3. But should the Qataris split their last two games, the Filipinos have to beat the Taiwanese to seal the third quarterfinal spot in Group F.

Smart Gilas had several chances to beat the Japanese but lapsed into a crucial miscue and then blew two open three-pointers in the clutch.

After hitting the go-ahead jumper for the Nationals, 49-48, Mark Barroca lost the leather in the ensuing possession and Japan sparked a scoring rampage.

The 6-9 Joji Takeuchi knocked down a three, former Phoenix Suns guard Yuta Tabuse finished on a break and Takumi Ishizaki nailed a floater for a 57-51 Japan advantage.

Casio’s triple and a drive by Kelly Williams trimmed the deficit to three points but Mac Baracael missed successive three-point attempts that could have tied the match with 36 ticks to play.

“It could have gone either way,” said Smart Gilas team manager Frankie Lim. “JVee’s last shot had a good line.”
Smart Gilas were ahead in rebounding (43-35), had more points off turnovers (14-7) and scored more aggressively in the paint (32-28) but committed more turnovers (19-11).

The scores:
JAPAN 60—Ishikazi 16, L. Takeuchi 11, Tabuse 9, J. Takeuchi 8, Sakurai 6, Hirose 4, Ito 4, Kinoshita 2, Amino 0, Okada 0, Yamada 0, Takeda 0.
PHILIPPINES 58—Lassiter 13, Williams 12, Casio 10, Baracael 7, Tiu 5, Taulava 5, Slaughter 4, Barroca 2, Lutz 0.
Quarters: 9-14, 30-29, 48-43, 60-58