Team RP slams Lebanon

JAKARTA – A hurting American import CJ Giles provided the heart and Mark Barroca the firepower for Smart Gilas Pilipinas as it overcame Al Riyadi of Lebanon, 91-86, yesterday and barged into the quarterfinal round in the 20th FIBA-Asia Champions Cup at the Britama Arena here.

The 6-11 Giles endured a knee injury in the third quarter and fired eight of his 20 points in the final six minutes to power the Filipinos to their second win in three starts and into the quarterfinals.

Barroca continued to be the most consistent performer in the team built just six months ago as he exploded for 28 points he spiked with seven rebounds, five steals and four assists.

The Far Eastern U standout took over for Smart Gilas in one stretch in the final quarter when he made the key plays and hit the crucial baskets in Giles’ absence.

The Nationals thus assured themselves of at least the No. 2 spot in Group A regardless of the result of their final elimination round game with Qadsia of Kuwait tonight.

“We played a great game, with heart, with passion and with a lot of positive things,” said RP’s Serbian coach Rajko Toroman. “We surprised Lebanon, they have international and national players.

“It’s a big win for us because we’re only six months together, we had some friendly games but that’s not official competition. We showed character, I think that’s the most important thing,” he said.

Giles capped his game-long heroics with a monster two-handed jam off an alley-oop pass from Barroca that all but quashed the rally of runners-up in the 2007 Fiba-Asia Championship in Tokushima, Japan.

It sent the small Filipino crowd, headed by SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan, in frenzied celebration as the RP cagers pulled off the dramatic victory.

“It hurts but I know the guys need me out there,” said Giles, who was bandaged with a knee guard and rushed straight to the nearby Mitra Hospital for tests after the match.

The RP cagers performance impressed no less than Lebanon coach Fouad Abou Chakra.

“I’ve said it before, this Philippine team is a very good team, they would never give up for 40 minutes and this is what they did against us,” said Chakra.

It was the second loss in four starts for Al Riyadi, which missed the services of skipper Fadhi El-Khatib due to a sore back.

“We really missed Fadhi, it’s different out there without him, that’s another scoring threat. Hopefully he’ll be back the next game,” said Lebanese-Canadian Ali Mahmoud.

Nate Johnson, who was rested along with the rest of the starters in a lopsided 61-87 loss to defending champion Mahram of Iran Thursday, came away with a tournament-high 43 points but got sidelined in a stretch bridging the third and fourth quarters, enabling the Filipinos to hang tough.

In Group B action, Zain of Jordan overpowered Satria Muda of host Indonesia, 84-71, and Al Arabi of Qatar smashed fellow Gulf rival Al Wasl of United Arab Emirates 97-78 to remain unscathed.

The Nationals’ stint here is supported by main partner Smart, official outfitter ACCEL, official ball Molten, Cebu Pacific, official socks Burlington and official casual wear Collezione by Rhett Eala.

On Thursday, Korean Army outfit Sangmoo unleashed an 18-8 blast in the final five minutes and eked out a 69-66 win over Kuwaiti league champions Al Qadsia in an equally pivotal Group A game.

With the lanky Giles manning the middle and Barroca directing the team’s plays, Smart Gilas seized control in the early going and even led by as many as 17 points, 32-15, in the second period.

The Filipinos kept the momentum until midway in the third quarter when Giles collided with a driving Johnson and took a hard fall. He was carried by his teammates to the dugout.

Lebanon took advantage of Giles absence and unleashed a blistering run which Johnson, who played for a San Miguel team that won a PBA title five years ago, capped with a triple on top of the key to seize the lead, 63-61, late in the third.

But the Filipinos, starring Barroca, flashed their resiliency and a big fighting heart, refusing to give up and bucking the odds to wrest a 73-67 lead early in the last quarter.

Giles then came in to finish the job.

Champions Cup Notes: Toroman’s assistants were also tasked as his night eyes to watch over players violating the 11 p.m. curfew. On Thursday night, conditioning coach Jimbo Saret and physical therapist Albert Rolle were the ones tasked to guard over potential violators, who would be fined if caught...Smart Gilas skipper Chris Tiu had a bum stomach all week. The culprit is the hotel’s spicy food served three times a day...Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan cut short his meeting with Indofood, a leading food company here where he is president, to lead a small but loud group of Filipinos cheering for the Nationals...Among the crowd were SBP vice chair Ricky Vargas, Philippine Sports Commission chair Harry Angping, Smart Sports chief Patrick Gregorio, ambassador Orly Mercado and Philippine Olympic Committee chair Monico Puentevella...Former RP team coach Chot Reyes, now with Talk N’ Text, quietly watched the game. On his left facing him were the teams that spoiled his bid in the 2007 FIBA-Asia Championship in Tokushima, Japan-Jordan and Iran.