While the other regions have now selected the teams that would represent their continents for the coveted Olympic gold in basketball, the competition is just heating up in Wuhan, China for the 2011 FIBA Asia olympic. The teams are currently on a brief respite before the crossover quarterfinals begin tomorrow. In the beginning of the tournament, teams such as China, Iran, Korea and Japan where the early favorites and were dubbed as contenders (Iran, is the defending champion) in the tournament as they finished the first round with 3-0 win-loss records. However, as I am writing this, the world is slowly taking notice of another team – the Philippines.
“First impression”
Smart Gilas Pilipinas dominated their preliminary matches against UAE (92-52) and Bahrain (113-71). Their only slip up was against the host and powerhouse team China which dealt them a 60-75 loss. Through out the preliminary round, naturalized center Marcus Douthit was a steady cog in both the offense and defense of the Philippines. The wingmen of Smart Gilas were also able to score inside and use their speed to run their opponents to the ground. In their two wins, Smart Gilas was able to dominate inside the paint where they had the size and athleticism advantage. They would not have this advantage however with a team like China. Still, the Philippines made a good first impression in the tournament by making it to the next round despite of their poor shooting from beyond the arc and problems with turnovers. Smart Gilas also played with only 10 men, without Christ Lutz and Marcio Lassiter as FIBA Asia secretary general Hagop ruled them as ineligible.
“Obstacle”
The second round of competitions started with a hint of controversy from Smart Gilas. The night before the game, there was a news that FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann has already made a decision that allows Lutz and Lassiter to play for the Philippines as Smart Gilas made an appeal and submitted the requested documents to prove their eligibility. Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) also helped in getting Lutz and Lassiter the nod to play in the tournament. However, at the start of their game against Jordan, the two players were still not allowed to play. This led the Philippines to put the game under protest while they tried to clarify to FIBA Asia officials that there was already a go-signal from FIBA that the two players were already cleared to play. During the second quarter of the game Lutz and Lassiter were finally allowed in the game which immediately led to a significant change in the play of Smart Gilas. They were down by 17 pts in the first quarter and things changed when Lassiter and Lutz finally came in. This now led to reports that Jordan also put the game in protest, but FIBA ruled in favor of the Philippines.
“A dark horse emerges”
The play of Lassiter and Lutz proved to be very important for Smart Gilas in the second round. This is not to say that Lassiter and Lutz are “superstars” but this is proof that coach Rajko Toroman built a team around the “team” concept and that his pieces on the team had an important part to play which spells success for the team. Smart Gilas was able to match-up well with the other teams by the time they had their wingmen back. Smart Gilas played lockdown defense against Jordan and Japan, limiting them below their scoring averages. More importantly, Smart Gilas was able to shut-down the designated scorers of their opponents in the second round: Daghles and Wright struggled (Jordan); Kawamura was hounded all night (Japan); and Gorges was neutralized especially in the second half of the game (Syria). In all three games, Smart Gilas showed that they can play international caliber defense by shutting down their opponents.
On the other end of the court, things also picked up. Alapag, Lassiter, Tiu and Casio were beginning to knock down shots from the three-point line. The transition offense was also a problem for the other teams since Smart Gilas kept pushing the ball at every opportunity, even centers Douthit and Taulava would sprint during fast breaks. Despite having the height disadvantage, Smart Gilas scored more inside points against their opponents. Smart Gilas won all three games in the second round: 72-64 against Jordan; 83-76 against Japan; 75-52 against Syria, and all of a sudden, the world began to notice.
The recent wins of Smart Gilas even merited a headline in the FIBA website. The Philippines is now through to the quarterfinal round where they will face the outside-gunning team of Chinese Taipei. Many sports analysts believe that Smart Gilas should match-up well with Chinese Taipei and that this is a more manageable game compared to facing either Iran or Korea. IF and WHEN the Philippines does go through to win against Chinese Taipei it will face the winner of the IRAN vs JORDAN match-up. If Smart Gilas goes to the semifinals, this basketball-crazy country will erupt! It will be anybody’s ball game. Bilog ang bola. (The ball is round). The wait has been too long but now things are getting clearer as the Philippines is emerging and other teams are noticing.
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