Paul Lee, long regarded as the finest player never to make a national team before, showed he is up to the task.
The 6-foot-1 guard keyed a 78-64 victory by Gilas Pilipinas over Chinese Taipei Saturday as the Filipinos debuted mightily in the Fiba Asia Cup at Wuhan Gym in Wuhan, China.
Lee connected on back-to-back triples bridging the third and fourth periods to spark a telling 23-6 tear that had the Filipinos breaking away from the game Taiwanese and avenging a stinging loss at home in the World Cup Qualifiers last August.
The former Rookie of the Year in the PBA, who played with his mother’s maiden name Dalistan at the back of his jersey, finished with 18 points to lead all Gilas shooters and show why he is worthy of a slot in the team.
Gilas trailed by as many as six points late in the third before Lee stepped up, connecting on the first of those treys for a 47-50 count before he sewed things up for the last time with another to start the fourth quarter.
Gary David, the veteran from Meralco, scattered 16 and Ranidel de Ocampo and LA Tenorio scored 11 each in a balanced attack.
Marcus Douthit fired eight points that went with 16 boards and three blocks for the Filipinos, who will most likely be playing with NBA veteran Andray Blatche in the World Cup next month.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes is treating this tournament as a tryout for at least four players—including Lee—as he rested six team regulars following an arduous PBA season.
The Filipinos take a break Sunday and will plunge back into action tomorrow against lowly Singapore.
The scores:
GILAS PILIPINAS 78—Dalistan 18, David 16, Tenorio 11, de Ocampo 11, Douthit 8, Dillinger 5, Aguilar 4, Lanete 3, Washington 2, Alas 0, Belga 0.
CHINESE TAIPEI 64—Hu L. 15, Liu 13, Lu 9, Peng 8, Davis III 7, Chen Y. 5, Lee 3, Chen H. 2, Chou 2, Chang 0, Lin 0.
Quarters: 20-10; 36-26; 47-50; 78-64.