Qatar holds off Smart Gilas RP

QATAR sustained a blazing start to repulse the Smart Gilas Pilipinas five, 66-61, Tuesday for its third straight win in Group B of the Fiba Asia Stankovic Cup at the Ghazir Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon.   Striking mightily with its core of athletic naturalized Africans, Qatar opened the game with a 21-6 run before weathering a rally that brought the Filipinos within five points, 56-61, with three minutes and 43 seconds remaining.   “We fought hard against Qatar but came up short. I’m still happy because we fought back after a poor start,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.   Smart Gilas, which beat Syria and Jordan after an opening loss to Lebanon, wound up with a 2-2 record and got a two-day break before seeing action in the quarterfinals on Friday.   As No. 3 behind Lebanon and Qatar, the Filipinos will face the second-ranked squad in Group A, where a three-way battle among Iran, Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei for first place was being decided in the final playdate of the eliminations late last night.   Qatar was enjoying a 59-47 lead when the Filipinos mounted a rally capped by Dylan Ababou’s triple that made it 61-56.   The Filipinos then pulled off a series of defensive stops but couldn’t convert on their next three possessions.   Chris Tiu’s three-pointer ended RP’s shooting drought, 59-64, but then only 36 seconds remained.   “We now have to rest and give everything we have in the quarterfinals,” said Toroman.    Filipino-Tongan Asi Taulava, the last-minute reinforcement from Coca-Cola, had an off-night, contributing only five points a day after a 13-point, 12-rebound effort against Jordan.    The scores:
QATAR 66—Ngombo 29, Ali A 12, Daoud 8, Ndour 8, Saeed 7, Ndiaye 2, Salem 0, Ali M 0, Mohamed 0.
SMART GILAS 61—Lassiter 11, Tiu 11, Baracael 10, Casio 8, Ababou 6, Aguilar 6, Taulava 5, Barroca 4, Ballesteros 0.
Quarters: 21-6, 37-27, 52-43, 66-61