Gilas 5 seeks quarters vs Jordan

DUBAI – Smart Gilas Pilipinas will have its hands full as it takes on fancied and title favorite Zain of Jordan Sunday, looking for a victory and a spot in the quarterfinal round in the 21st Dubai Invitational here.

Coach Rajko Toroman knows it would take a lot of grit and strong play to beat the Jordanians, bannered by their national team mainstays and backstopped by three American imports.

“Zain is composed of Jordan’s national team, which I think is going to play in the Olympics, plus three American imports,” said Toroman, a day after steering the Filipinos to a 77-71 victory over Champville of Lebanon.

With their crack roster, the Jordanians are tipped to contend for the championship in this import-laced 10-day tournament although they needed an extra period to turn back the gritty Al Nasr of United Arab Emirates side, 89-80.

Zain drew 32 points from Rasheim Wright, an American-born naturalized Jordanian while Sam Daghlas, a Jordanian who played college ball for Midwestern State, came away with a 15-point, eight-assist performance.

The Jordanians bagged the bronze medal in the 2009 FIBA-Asia Championship in Tianjin, China, earning a berth in the FIBA World Championship in Turkey set this year.

What makes the team more formidable is the presence of three tall and talented American reinforcements in former Talk n Text import Damien Cantrell, Ashante Johnson and Kendall Dartez.

“If you’re sending your national team, which is one of the best in Asia, and you play with three Americans, imagine what kind of team Jordan is,” said Toroman.

The Nationals will be facing the Jordanians for the first time since they were formed two years ago.

Incidentally, seven-footer Ayman Dais, who was the leading scorer in the Tianjin triumph with 22 points, will be suiting up for Zain here.

Smart Gilas, which split its first two assignments, is eyeing a stint in the quarters and a chance of snaring one of the top two seeds in Group B, which will give the team the right to face the lower seeds in the other bracket.

Toroman said nothing is impossible especially after coming off a morale-boosting victory over the Fadi El Khatib-led Champville of Lebanon early Saturday.

“The team got the confidence in our win against Lebanon. I hope against Zain, we’ll play better,” said Toroman.

Smart Gilas, whose Dubai campaign is bankrolled by Smart and supported by Nike and GMA International, is bracketed with Zain, Champville, Al Nasr of UAE and Al Jalaa of Syria in Group B.

Group A is composed of Riyadi of Lebanon, Mahram of Iran, Al Wahda of Syria, Al Jazeera of Egypt and the UAE national squad.