‘Douthit can stay with Gilas if he wants to’

INCHEON, South Korea – Marcus Douthit returned with a big game in a 67-65 win over Kazakhstan after a one-game suspension, redeeming himself from his lackluster, heart-less performance against Qatar.

Unfortunately, his 18-point, 14-rebound and three-block effort was not enough to carry Gilas Pilipinas to an 11-point win to advance as Korea beat Qatar later in the night.

Gilas still ended up tied with Kazakhstan and Qatar with 1-2 card in the quarterfinals but missed the semis due to an inferior quotient.

With Gilas' early exit in the Asiad, Douthit's future with the national team was questioned.

"Future of Douthit? I think you have to asked management. His contract has been renewed. He is still part of the program if he wants to," said Reyes answering the Filipino press after the game against Kazakhstan.

Many fans believed that Douthit's relationship with the national team and Reyes was strained the moment Andray Blatche came in to replace him in the FIBA World Cup.

While Douthit regained his old post back after Blatche was disqualified in the Asiad due to a three-year residency rule, he crammed to get into game shape.

He answered those doubts with two solid games in a win against India and a tough loss to Iran. This tournament has looked like his redemption until he was questioned for shooting an ill-advised but wide-open 3-point attempt in their last offensive play that led to their loss.

Douthit showed up against Qatar with a lackluster effort that drew sharp criticisms from Reyes during the post-game press conference.

Douthit's actions on and off the court during that Qatar game led the team to the decision of benching him as some of the Gilas players ran after him to confront him in the locker room when he did not even bother to join them in their traditional post-game huddle at center court.

Reyes corrected the impression that he has decided only by himself to bench Douthit during the heartbreaking loss to Korea.

“After we had a team meeting yesterday (Sunday), Marcus reiterated his apology and he said he was ready to play,” said Reyes.

“It’s a decision that was arrived at by the team, the same way we had the decision to bench him,” Reyes added.

With Douthit redeeming himself in the Kazakhstan game, all's well that ends well except that the team failed to make the semis of this tournament despite a pre-tournament favorite billing.

Douthit has just signed a fresh one-year deal to stay with the Gilas program prior to the Asian Games.

“I think the intent to renew for one year is a strong statement that we still want him to be part of the program,” Reyes said.