Gilas faces daunting bid vs Lebanon

DOHA, Qatar – Smart Gilas Pilipinas faces tremendous odds in its semifinal bid in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup as it takes on powerhouse Al Riyadi of Lebanon at the Al Gharafa Sports Club Hall here today.

The Nationals will not only play with a roster depleted by a spate of injuries to key players but also face a team which swept its elimination round assignment in Group B.

But the Filipinos hope to come out fresh from a one-day rest and vow to give it their all in what could be their toughest challenge yet in the tournament.

“Against Lebanon, everybody here will see how Smart Gilas really play because until now, we didn’t play good, not the Smart Gilas that played in Dubai, Australia, Serbia and the US,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

“We had some problems, we had to add some new players but I think it’s time to play really good basketball because these great fans who are watching us here deserve to see one better Smart Gilas,” he said.

The Filipinos scrambled to get into the Last 8 by nipping 7-4 Priest Lauderdale and the Duhok of Iraq team, 76-74, on a game-winning hook shot by Serbian import Milan Vucicevic last Wednesday.

The lone win came after a string of losses to host Al Rayyan of Qatar, 58-86, Astana Tigers of Kazakhstan, 71-77, in overtime and then to defending champion Mahram of Iran, 72-86 as Smart Gilas showed up without injured guards JV Casio and JR Cawaling and a couple of new recruits in Fil-Am Chris Lutz and Vucicevic, who still have to blend with the mainstays of the team.

Against Lebanon, however, Smart Gilas will be facing a team powered by Americans CJ Giles and Nate Johnson and the prolific Fadi El-Khatib.

“We won in Jakarta against them but we lost in the Dubai tournament. This team is the strongest team though because all the players are coming after winning the Arabic Games,” said Toroman.