MANILA, Philippines - With top naturalization prospect Dwayne Jones and Brian Butch out of the picture, Smart Gilas Pilipinas is now setting its sights on Courtney Sims as the team’s reinforcement in its quest for an Olympic berth.
Sims, a former D-League MVP who happens to be Smart Gilas’ Serbian coach Rajko Toroman’s original choice for naturalization, is reportedly now available after being released from Capitanes de Arecibo of the Puerto Rican League.
“We’re exploring every possibility and exercising all our options,” said Smart Gilas manager Frankie Lim.
Meanwhile, Smart Gilas lost to Serbian League’s No. 1 team Partizan, 71-87, and fell to 1-4 (win-loss) card in their Serbian Tour.
The Serbians opted to play with just five members of their first team with rest coming from their second squad. But the hosts still dominated the smaller but gritty Filipinos, who put up a gallant stand before losing steam in the final five minutes.
“They were scoring from inside and outside. We had problems executing offensively and lost in the rebounding battle, 20-42. We shot poorly from outside and couldn’t convert our fast break attempts,” said Smart Gilas captain Chris Tiu. – Joey Villar