Douthit towers over Taiwanese in ABA tiff

MANILA, Philippines - Top naturalization candidate American Marcus Douthit churned out a double-double game as Smart Gilas Pilipinas turned back Chinese Taipei-Pure Youth, 84-77, to barge into the finals of the fourth Asian Basketball Association Club Championship 2010 in Haining, China over the weekend.

The 6-10 Douthit, whose naturalization papers will be tackled at Congress tomorrow, fired 26 points and hauled down 13 rebounds while adding five blocks to power the Filipinos to the championship round against the Korea Samsung Thunder.

“It’s already a big accomplishment and we hope we’ll go all the way,” said Smart Gilas team manager Frankie Lim.

The finals stint was the best by the Rajko Toroman-mentored Nationals in a tournament since they topped one tournament also in China early last year. The team also finished third in the import-laced Dubai Invitational last January.

The Nationals are in the thick of their preparations for the Asian Games in Guangzhou in November and the FIBA-Asia Championship in Beirut, Lebanon next year as they bid for a spot in the 2012 London Olympics.

RP team skipper Chris Tiu scattered 12 points and came away with eight rebounds and three assists to back up Douthit.