DOHA, Qatar - Isang hook shot ang isinalpak ni Serbian import Milan Vucicevic upang ilusot ang Smart Gilas Pilipinas sa Duhok ng Iraq, 76-74, upang sikwatin ang huling quarterfinals ticket sa 21st FIBA-Asia Champions Cup dito sa Al Gharafa Sports Club Hall.
Matapos limitahin ang 7-foot-4 na si Priest Lauderdale, sumandal naman ang Nationals sa 6’10 na si Vucicevic sa huling segundo ng laro para wakasan ang kanilang three-game losing skid.
Makakasagupa ng Smart Gilas ang bigating Al Riyadi ng Lebanon sa quarterfinals.
“It was a very difficult game, we can’t make a break, we’re a little bit scared so I said to the players that’s not our real face,” wika ni Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman. “We also put a lot of pressure on the players by saying we needed to win this game but luck was on our side and we won.”
Umiskor si Mac Baracael ng 19 puntos para sa Smart Gilas, habang may tig-15 naman sina Dylan Ababou at Mark Barroca.
Nagdagdag naman si RP team captain Chris Tiu, may sumasakit na baywang at namamagang hamstring, ng 12 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds at 3 steals bago makuha ang kanyang huling foul sa laro.
Sa huling 6.36 segundo, sumalaksak si Barroca sa gitna kung saan siya umakit ng depensa bago inihulog ang bola kay Vucicevic sa baseline para sa game-winning hook shot.
Smart Gilas Pilipinas 76 - Baracael 19, Barroca 15, Ababou 15, Tiu 12, Vucicevic 10, Lutz 3, Slaughter 2, Ramos 0, Aguilar 0, Jazul 0.
Duhok of Iraq 74 - Cage 34, Lauderdale 17, Mohammed 13, Mahdi 4, Ismaeel 2, Hamad 2, Suliman 2, Hussein 0.
Quarterscores: 18-22, 36-34, 53-52, 76-74.