Smart Gilas kumpiyansa na makakapasok sa medal round

GUANGZHOU--Kum­piyansa ang Smart Gilas Team Pilipinas na makakalaro sila sa medal round ma­tapos maitakas ang isang 76-69 panalo kontra Kuwait sa isang knockout game noong Sabado.

Sinabi ni coach Rajko Toroman naniniwala siyang makakapasok ang Natio­nals sa quarterfinals.

“Everything (we did against the Kuwaitis) was wrong but the important thing is that we’re in the ga­me. Going to the tourna­ment proper, I think we’ll play better because this team just needs time. I strong­ly believe that we can reach the quarterfinals and anything can happen from there,” wika ni Toroman.

Kinailangan ng Smart Gilas ang isang malaking ratsada sa fourth quarter para maungusan ang Kuwaitis.

“I’d said before that it would be tough because it’s a knockout game. Kuwait surprised us they played much better than we expected. We’re the exact opposite. We couldn’t find way how to play against zone and we gave up many things to our opponent,” ani Toroman.

Bagamat mas maliit kesa sa mga Pinoy, nakuha pa rin ng mga Kuwaitis ang isang nine-point lead sa first half.

Naniniwala rin si ChrisTiu na maganda pa ang ilalaro nina Asi Taulava at Greg Slaughter laban sa mas malalaking Arab teams.

Hindi rin nakalaro si Ja­peth Aguilar dahilan sa isang knee injury na kan­yang nakuha sa kani­lang tune-up game kontra Dongguan Leopards noong Huwebes.

Makakatapat ng Nationals sa main draw ang Iran bukas ng alas-9:30 ng gabi sa Huangpu Gymnasium.