All-Pinoy Gilas outsmarts Syrian club, finishes third

DUBAI – Smart Gilas Pilipinas played all-Filipino and stunned former tormentor Al Jalaa of Syria with a flawless shooting from the line, pulling off a 107-98 victory to finish third in the 21st Dubai Invitational at the Al Ahli Indoor Stadium here Saturday.

The gutsy Filipinos unleashed a 40-point effort in the fourth quarter to get back at the Syrians, backstopped by three Americans and three Brazilian-Syrians, who trounced the former, 90-76, in the opener of the tournament last week.

Mac Baracael fired 26 points, Mark Barroca broke out of a slump and scattered 18 of his 21 points in the last period while skipper Chris Tiu canned all his 12 charities to help power the Filipinos to an impressive third place finish in the tournament they could’ve won if not for a fourth quarter meltdown in their 76-79 loss to Al Riyadi of Lebanon in the semis Friday.

“I know you saw we have great character, they are fighters even if we were down because of yesterday’s (Friday’s) loss,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

“We have to show mental toughness now after the loss to Al Riyadi but I think in the second half we showed wonderful basketball, a lot of aggressiveness, a lot of intensity.

“I have to congratulate the players and I’m thanking them for everything that they did here,” said Toroman.

Al Jalaa’s Demetric Shaw, a former Kent St. standout, headed straight to RP’s locker room after the game to personally congratulate the Filipinos in behalf of his team.

“In behalf of my team, congratulations, you played with a big heart, you’re the best team here,” he said.

Tiu said Smart Gilas gained more in losing to Al Riyadi, who eventually lost to Mahram of Iran, 67-85, in their title match.

“Even if we didn’t make the finals, the lessons learned, the experience gained are something that really can be very useful for us in the future and coming tournaments,” said Tiu.

“These teams are mostly national players from Asia reinforced with three imports plus naturalized players, it’s a very tough competition but we still finished third, I’m proud of the team,” he said.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Noli Eala said Smart Gilas’ third place finish is a strong indicator that the country’s quest for a berth in the 2012 London Olympics is on the right track.

“It’s a major, major achievement and affirmation of the program that we have. It shows that I think the system of coach Toroman works, the players have adapted well to the system, we’re making progress especially since in this tournament we practically played with an all-Filipino lineup.

“My hats off to coach Rajko and all the players who sacrificed to be here and I think they have all matured and more importantly they gained a lot of confidence with this victory,” Eala said.

Like in its first outing, Al Jalaa came out strong and dominated the first 30 minutes of play.

During the stretch, the Syrians, who dropped a 92-94 setback to Mahram in the semis on a triple by Samad Nikkah Bahrami in the dying seconds, posted leads of as many as 35-23 in the third period.

But the Filipinos, whose campaign was sponsored by Smart and backed by Nike and GMA Pinoy TV, fought back behind Baracael, Barroca and Tiu, who knocked all their 22 free throw attempts, including 18 straight in the last two minutes to complete the stirring come-from-behind victory.

Smart Gilas notes: The Nationals left Dubai Sunday and will make a brief stop in Doha, Qatar before flying home to Manila where they are expected to arrive early Monday...JV Casio was picked as the best guard of the tournament, joining Sama Nikkah Bahrami of Mahram of Iran and former RP naturalization candidate CJ Giles of Al Riyadi of Lebanon, who were named MVP and best center, respectively, in the top roster...

The scores:

Smart Gilas 107 - Baracael 26, Barroca 21, Tiu 12, Aguilar 10, Casio 10, Lassiter 9, Cawaling 9, Ballesteros 4, Slaughter 4, Ababou 2.

Al Jalaa 98 - Maadanli 23, Correa 18, Shaw 16, Hamilton 10, Gorges 9, Al Sharif 8, Thompson 7, Meraneh 5, Papazian 2.

Quarterscores: 18-26, 40-48, 67-70, 107-98

Smart Gilas notes: The Nationals left Dubai Sunday and will take a stop in Doha, Qatar for a few hours before flying straight to Manila where they are expected to arrive early Monday...JV Casio was picked as the best guard of the whole tournament, joining the ranks of Sama Nikkah Bahrami of Mahram of Iran and former RP naturalization candidate CJ Giles of Al Riyadi of Lebanon, who were adjudged MVP and best center, respectively...After capping a grueling 20-day Middle East sojourn, the players were given the night off to do some late evening shopping and reconnect with old friends who are now working here.

The scores:

Smart Gilas 107 – Baracael 26, Barroca 21, Tiu 12, Aguilar 10, Casio 10, Lassiter 9, Cawaling 9, Ballesteros 4, Slaughter 4, Ababou 2.

AL JALAA 98 – Maadanli 23, Correa 18, Shaw 16, Hamilton 10, Gorges 9, Al Sharif 8, Thompson 7, Meraneh 5, Papazian 2.

Quarters: 18-26, 40-48, 67-70, 107-98