Qatar pulls misfiring PH down to 4th

TOKYO—A Smart Gilas-Pilipinas squad that played its heart out still couldn’t find its range on Saturday and settled for fourth place in the Fiba-Asia Cup after bowing to Qatar, 79-63, at Ota Gymnasium here.

The Filipinos shot just eight points in the first quarter and were hobbled by injuries to Marcus Douthit, LA Tenorio and Ranidel de Ocampo in losing lopsidedly for the second straight day and failing to improve on its best-ever finish in the tournament.

“We didn’t lack the effort, we just couldn’t score,” rued coach Chot Reyes, whose boys shot just 11 percent  from three-point zone and 11-of-17 from the free throw line. “Bottom line is, even if we play great defense, we still have to make baskets.”

Aren Davoudi hit a triple with 18 seconds left later in the night and keyed Iran’s title-clinching 53-51 decision of host Japan.

Douthit had to be carried back to the bench at the 1:36 mark of the second quarter because of a twisted left ankle, following Tenorio to the sidelines after the spitfire guard pulled his left hamstring in an earlier play.

Though Douthit did return to play the whole second half, he was never the same and Qatar exploited this to the hilt by dominating the boards, 47-30, 12 of them off the offensive glass.

De Ocampo, the next most reliable big man for Reyes, also sprained his left ankle late in the third period, and like Tenorio, couldn’t return.

“We failed to score at least 70 points in our last two games,” Reyes continued.

The Philippines has finished fourth for the second straight time in the event, and for the second straight occasion, was denied third place by the Qataris. In 2010, Qatar also bagged third place with an 80-75 win against a Rajko Toroman-coached squad.

“What can I say, but try again next time,” Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas chair Manny V. Pangilinan said.

The Filipinos were coming off a 60-77 loss to Iran on Friday and were propped up by Pangilinan, who rode with the team bus for the first time going into the game against the Qataris.

Mohd Mohmmed hit four triples and finished with 17 points for Qatar, which made 18-of-20 charities and made the Filipinos pay for some useless fouls.

The Philippines was still in it early in the fourth period despite its shooting woes, only for the Qataris to drop four straight treys that broke the Filipinos’  backs, 73-56, going into the final 3:06.

Reyes raised his arms in disbelief after the first of those triples, when Mohmmed, under heavy pressure from Gabe Norwood, threw up a prayer that hit the backboard and went in to beat the 24-second shot clock.

Team Philippines flies home Sunday with all its players returning to their mother Philippine Basketball Association ballclubs.

The 38th PBA Season opens on Sunday with Talk ‘N Text, which Reyes left to handle Smart Gilas, as the defending champion.

The scores:

QATAR 79—Mohmmed 17, Johnson 16, Abdi 14, Saeed 10, Daoud 7, Salem 5, Elhadary 4, Mohammed 4, Ali 2.

SMART GILAS-PILIPINAS 63—Douthit 17, David 15, Dillinger 12, Norwood 10, De Ocampo 4, Fonacier 3, Tenorio 2, Thoss 0, Chan 0, Villanueva 0.

Quarters: 12-8, 35-26, 55-48, 79-63.