Ranidel trey lifts Gilas past Jordan

MANILA, Philippines - Ranidel de Ocampo hit a big trey on a catch-and-shoot play then Gilas Pilipinas watched Jordan bungle a three-on-two attack in the dying seconds as the Nationals escaped with a 71-70 win to complete a sweep of their group-play assignments in the fifth FIBA Asia Cup at the Wuhan Sports Centre in Wuhan, China last night.

Jordan could have snatched victory in the tightly fought match but Ahmad Alharmasheh opted not to attack an open driving lane, and instead kicked the ball out to gunner Wesam Al-Sous who missed a three-pointer from the left flank at the buzzer.

Rasheim Wright, a lethal slasher who was the third Jordan player on their three-on-two transition play in the last five seconds, couldn’t believe they blew that crucial play. He was a step ahead of De Ocampo from the right side.

The Nationals squandered an 11-point lead in the second quarter but showed poise and composure in a battle down the stretch, thus, topping Group B with a perfect 3-0 win-loss slate.

As the Group B topnotcher, Gilas Pilipinas advanced to the quarterfinals versus Group A fourth finisher India.

The other Final Eight pairings pit China versus Singapore, Iran against Jordan, and Chinese Taipei opposite Japan.

In the other games at the close of the preliminary round, titleholder Iran drubbed India, 62-49, while Japan clobbered Indonesia, 96-59.

Paul Lee and De Ocampo combined for an impressive 7-of-11 three-point shooting and a total of 30 points as Gilas scored some measure of revenge against the Jordan team that handed the Nationals sorry defeats in the semifinals of the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship and the 2012 Asia Cup.

Jared Dillinger, Marcus Douthit and Beau Belga also stepped up as the Nationals survived their biggest challenge so far in this tourney serving as part of their buildup for the FIBA World Cup.

Dillinger held Wright to 11 points while making nine of his own, Douthit collected 13 points and nine rebounds, and Belga played quality minutes in the final half, coming through with eight points, three rebounds and one steal.

Still, the Filipinos walked the tightrope before making it three in a row following earlier wins over Chinese Taipei and Singapore.

Jordan, the 2008 Asia Cup champ now playing under former Gilas coach Rajko Toroman, found a chance to steal the game after LA Tenorio missed what could have been an insurance bucket with six seconds to go.

The Jordanians pushed a transition play but then Alharmasheh seemed to have made the wrong decision of kicking the ball out Al-Sous in the final second instead of dishing off a drop pass.

Al-Sous had made three of six three-point attempts before that fateful play.

The Jordanians earlier fought back from 14-25 down behind solid inside incursions of big men Ahmad Al Dwairi and Mohammad Hussein.

Taller and heftier, the Jordanians outrebounded the Filipinos, 45-39, and enjoyed a 38-32 advantage on points at the paint.