Gilas II opens bid vs China in FIBA-Asia

TOKYO – Smart Gilas Pilipinas finally begins its campaign in the fourth FIBA-Asia Cup here Friday against an extremely tough Chinese squad out to rebound from an Olympic debacle.

China has overhauled its national team after being shut out in the London Games, and the new Chinese squad could only be raring to make an impact in this tourney.

“We’ve heard they’re playing their Team B or their new team. But in my experience, they’re always very competitive even with their Team B,” said Gilas coach Chot Reyes.

“It is what it is. It’s a good preparation for us,” added Reyes, welcoming the Chinese game to start their second international tourney after the Jones Cup.

The Filipinos and the Chinese square off at 4:30 p.m. at the brand-new Ota City Gymnasium.

Lebanon and Macau clash in the other Group A match at 11:30 a.m. while the Group B tiffs pit Iran versus India at 2 p.m. and the host team against Qatar at 7 p.m.

The Chinese rode high on the exploits of their NBA players Yi Jianlian and Wang Zhizhi in drubbing the Filipinos, 75-60, the last time they faced off during the preliminary round of the 2011 FIBA-Asia Championship in Wuhan, China.

The sidelining of Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz due to eligibility problem prevented Gilas from putting up a better performance then.

The Chinese went on to rule that Wuhan meet and brought the same champion team to the London Games where they were clobbered by Russia, Brazil, Spain, Australia and Great Britain.

But the team has undergone a facelift with youth stars Wang Zhelin and Guo Ailun among the new names in the Chinese lineup.

Having been together from their triumphant Jones Cup stint, the Filipinos may have a better chemistry and this may give them a chance to turn the tables on the Chinese.

It would be remembered that the Philippines repulsed China twice the last time the Chinese fielded upcoming stars in the Asian meet.

Coach Reyes was also the man at the helm of that Philippine team beating China in the fight for ninth place in the 2007 Tokushima Asian joust. The Filipinos also topped the Chinese in the preliminary round then.

In Wuhan, Washington Wizard Jianlian and former Dallas Maverick Zhizhi gave the Filipinos much problem as the two behemoths combined for 36 points and 22 rebounds.

Six-foot-eight guard Sun Yue, who had a brief stint with the LA Lakers, also made his presence felt, coming through with 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one assist while ranged against pint-sized Filipino guards Jimmy Alapag and Jayvee Casio.

Still, the Nationals put up a pesky stand in the match marred by a near free-for-all between coaching staffs of the two teams at the half triggered by an alleged nasty word thrown by Chinese head coach Bob Donewald, an American, at then Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

 Security personnel in the venue prevented the commotion from getting out of hand, and Donewald later denied uttering a foul word on Toroman.

China and the Philippines are the winningest teams in the region with the former having 15 FIBA-Asia Championship crowns tucked under its belt and the latter with five.

Both have yet to win the Asia Cup, though. China is a first-time participant here while the Philippines is competing for the third time after an eighth-place finish in 2004 in Taipei and fourth in 2010 in Beirut.