Smart Gilas pulls thru in OT over Taiwanese

HSINCHUANG – Smart Gilas Pilipinas squandered a 13-point spread in the last three minutes of regulation and nearly blew away a seven-point lead in the last 2:41 of overtime in a gripping 96-93 win over host Chinese Taipei in the Jones Cup at the Hsinchuang Gymnasium here last night.

JVee Casio stole off Lee Shueh-lin in the last three seconds to complete the bailout win that kept the Nationals within striking distance of Iran with two play dates left in the week-long event.

Iran made it three in a row with an 85-54 whipping of the Townsville Crocs of Australia earlier.

Lebanon, meanwhile, clobbered the Taiwan University All Stars, 96-66, as the Lebanese and the Filipinos remained tied at second place with identical 3-1 win-loss records.

The host team suffered a third straight loss following two successive wins.

It could have been an easy win for the Filipinos if not for numerous errors and crucial defensive lapses in the crunch.

The game went into overtime with the Nationals letting the Taiwanese score two triples in the closing seconds.

Smart Gilas lapsed into more errors in overtime, and the host was quick to pound on the situation, charging back into contention, 93-95, after falling behind by seven at 82-89.

Back-to-back steals by Chris Tiu and Casio had the Filipinos preserving the win in the match marred by spotty officiating.

Both coaches lambasted the referees in the post-game interview.

“We’re in control most of the way but we just couldn’t close out the game. We have to stay calm in situations like we faced in this game,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

Smart Gilas dictated the tempo with Marcus Douthit imposing his strength at the paint, coming through with a big double-double game with 33 points and 22 rebounds.

The Taiwanese were clobbered in the battle off the boards, 34-52, but kept on fighting, drawing much strength on their 43-percent three-point shooting.

Chen Shun Hsia fired six treys, Chen Tzu Wei added four and Chinese Taipei totaled 13 as against Smart Gilas’ five.

The Taiwanese also did a good defensively to make up for their lack of ceiling, forcing the Nationals to a total of 18 turnovers.