Philippines, Jordan set Group A showdown

MANILA—Smart Gilas Pilipinas and ASU Jordan hammered out contrasting victories at the PhilSports Arena last night to set the stage for an intriguing showdown for the Group A lead going into the quarterfinals of the Fiba-Asia Champions Cup.

Ranged against a resilient Iraqi team in Duhok, the Nationals regained their bearings in the fourth period to hammer out a 74-64 victory for their third straight win.

Smart Gilas grabbed a share of the lead in Group A with ASU Jordan, which cruised to a 101-77 rout of the Kuala Lumpur Westport Dragons of Malaysia.

Mark Barroca and Chris Tiu joined forces in an early fourth-quarter burst as the Nationals recovered from a lackluster third period to move within a brink of a sweep in Group A.

“We were not playing well offensively but we were battling it out defensively and that’s how we got our points,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

Dondon Hontiveros fired all of his eight points in the second quarter to help Smart Gilas build a 47-31 buffer.

But the Nationals suddenly went cold in the third period, making just two field goals, allowing the Iraqis, led by import CJ Giles, to trim the gap to two, 53-55.

Hobbled by foul trouble early on, Barroca returned to ignite the Nationals, finding Tiu for a triple to open the fourth quarter, before hitting a bank shot to put them on top, 64-53.

Gilas will face Applied Science University of Jordan tonight for the top ranking in Group A.

The top seeding means a lighter opponent in the quarterfinal round, which will most likely be Al-Jalaa of Syria, a 93-63 winner over Al-Shabbab of UAE in an earlier game yesterday.

Meanwhile, Al-Riyadi of Lebanon turned to its mercurial guard Fadi El Khatib in the extra period to outlast Qatar’s Al-Rayan, 78-73, in Group B.
The scores
First Game
SYRIA 93—Yaqqub 23, Miller 14, Maddanly 13, Walker 11, Haj Ishak 9, Georges 6, Papazian 4.
UAE 63—Al-Zaabi 24, Fields 21, Khalfan 8, Ashoor 4, Al Mehrezi 4, Abdulla 2.
Quarters: 26-13, 45-32, 70-47, 93-63
Second Game
JORDAN 101—Daghles 19,Mohammad 17,Abbaas 16,Watkins 16, Alawadi 14, Al Sous 9, Alhamarsheh 5, Soobzokov4, Aljanar 1.
MALAYSIA 77—Ayer 21, Morrison 17, Shee 11, Yong 6, Batumali 6, Yeo 5, Yeow 3, Satyaseelan 2.
Quarters: 26-22, 58-32, 82-54, 101-77
Third Game
LEBANON 78—Ismail 24, Woods 18, El Khatib 13, Abd El Nour 12, Akl 8, El Turk 3.
QATAR 73—Ngombo 24, Leslie 15, Ali 10, Salem 6, Ndour 6, Musa 5, Cuffee 5, Abdulla 2.
Quarters: 18-15, 29-35, 50-57, 70-70 (reg), 78-73
Fourth Game
PHILIPPINES 74—Douthit 14, Barroca 12, Tiu 11, Lutz 8, Hontiveros 8, Casio 7, Baracael 6, Lassiter 4,  Aguilar 2, Taulava 2,
IRAQ 64—Giles 20, Gray 17, Al-Doori 9, Agha 7, Gorgiss 5, Mahdi 5, Hamad 1.
Quarters: 21-17, 47-35, 59-53, 74-64