Smart-Gilas gets taste of home cooking

The Smart-Gilas developmental basketball team took it on the chin twice from a fully-stocked Japanese national squad to start their four-game exhibition series on a rough note in Tokyo recently.

Coach Rajko Toroman’s troops lost, 83-64, last Tuesday and 84-77 the next day but SBP executive director Noli Eala said yesterday the team learned a lot from the experience of playing on hostile territory.

Only seven players suited up for Smart-Gilas in the series opener as Toroman went with J. V. Casio, Dylan Ababou, Greg Slaughter, Sean Anthony, CJ Giles, Jason Ballesteros and Mac Baracael.

Magi Sison and J. R. Cawaling took a later flight to Tokyo and failed to suit up. Two more players Mark Barroca and Aldrech Ramos arrived last Wednesday in time for the second game.

Eala said officiating was atrocious in both games. Smart-Gilas got a huge bite of home cooking and the sushi left a bitter taste in the mouth.

“In the first game, we trimmed the lead to nine points with five minutes to go but the Japanese referees just wouldn’t allow a full national team to win with a slim margin over our Magnificent Seven,” said Eala.

“The Japanese coaching staff agreed that officiating has been a big problem in the development of basketball and their national team. Even in their leagues, officiating is supposedly way below par.”

In the second game, the score was tied at 77-all with 2:08 to go but the Filipinos were blanked the rest of the way. Japan led, 79-77, time down to 1:40 when Casio missed a layup and Giles flubbed a put-back before fouling out.

Smart-Gilas was whistled for 28 fouls leading to 35 free throws for Japan. Giles and Ababou were disqualified with five personals. Japan dominated the boards, 52-41, but Smart-Gilas posted a higher clip from three-point range, 29.4 percent to 15.4 percent.

Baracael led Smart-Gilas with 21 points. Giles chipped in 19, Ababou 8, Casio 7 and Barroca 7. Veteran guard Takehiko Orimo paced Japan with 15 points, former Phoenix Suns guard Yuta Tabuse contributed 14 and Ken Takeda 10.

Both games were played at the National Training Center in Tokyo. The complex features an indoor facility for 10 sports from gymnastics, judo, table tennis, wrestling, basketball to badminton, a 400-meter track, an athletes village, indoor tennis courts and modern video equipment for use to review performance. The center is for the exclusive use of Japan’s elite athletes and managed by the National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health, the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) and the involved National Sports Associations.

“The facility is still very new, having been opened only two years ago,” said Eala. “It is where all training courts, facilities and equipment are housed for practically all sports of the JOC. The center has a 7-storey infrastructure and the basketball gym exclusively for the national team is on the second floor. There is also a building for the Japan Institute of Sports Science where research and sports studies are made. They don’t allow guests to enter that building.”

Eala said across the street from the 7-storey building is the athletes village. “One can just imagine the kind of training and conditioning the Japanese athletes get at this state-of-the-art center,” said Eala.

The Smart-Gilas team returns home on Sunday.

Japan is hosting the East Asian qualifiers for the FIBA-Asia Championships and will dispute two available tickets with South Korea, Chinese-Taipei, Mongolia and Hong Kong on June 10-14. China is assured of a slot as host of the FIBA-Asia tournament on Aug. 6-16.

The Philippines, represented by the Powerade PBA selection of coach Yeng Guiao, will shoot for its own ticket to Tianjin at the SEABA qualifiers in Medan, Indonesia, on June 6-9. The top two finishers will advance to Tainjin. Aside from the Philippines, the only other entries are Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Eala reported that FIBA-Asia secretary-general Dato Yeoh Choo Hock has confirmed that the draw for the FIBA-Asia Championships will be held in Tianjin, China, on June 17.