Gilas back to work today

MANILA, Philippines - The Smart Gilas team resumes practice at the Arena in San Juan this afternoon with naturalization candidate Marcus Douthit expected to report for coach Rajko Toroman’s first workout since the recent Guangzhou Asian Games where the national basketball squad finished sixth.

The practice begins at 2 p.m. Toroman said Douthit is expected to plane in from the US this morning.

 “This isn’t about the Gilas program anymore, it’s about getting results,” said Toroman, referring to the ultimate objective of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics. “The challenge is to win the FIBA-Asia championship in 2011 so we can qualify for London.”

The FIBA-Asia Championships, the Olympic qualifying tournament for the zone, will be held in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China on Sept. 15-25. The winner will represent Asia in London. Lebanon was initially picked to host the competition but FIBA-Asia later stripped the country of the right. Chinese Basketball Association vice president Li Jinsheng confirmed Wuhan as the host after a FIBA-Asia executive meeting in Kuala Lumpur last week.

Toroman said a decision will be made shortly on whether or not to include PBA reinforcements for Gilas.

“If we bring in PBA players, the commitment must be for them to be full-time with Gilas for at least 1 1/2 months,” said Toroman. “We saw how difficult it was for us to play as a team in Guangzhou with our PBA players not getting enough practice time. Against Iran, for instance, we played more individual basketball than team basketball. We suffered from lack of chemistry. We were confined to using three basic offensive plays. If the decision is to include PBA players, maybe we can begin inviting them to practice in February at least once weekly. Then, we should take them with us when we play in the Jones Cup in July.”

A full schedule awaits Gilas in the coming year. First in the agenda is the 22nd Dubai International Invitationals on Jan. 20-29. Others in the calendar are the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup in May, a possible exhibition series in Serbia and Turkey in June, the Jones Cup in July and the FIBA-Asia Championships in September.

Toroman said the Dubai tournament will feature top-caliber clubs from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates with two imports allowed per team. Last year, Gilas finished third in the Dubai joust behind Mahram of Iran and Al Riyadi of Lebanon.

Gilas was reinforced by PBA cagers Kelly Williams, Asi Taulava and Sol Mercado at the Asian Games last month. The team was handicapped by the absence of 6-9 Japeth Aguilar who suffered a knee injury in a practice game and sat out the entire nine-game campaign. Mercado was hobbled by an injury and played in only five games. Gilas wound up sixth, failing to advance to the semifinals after dropping a 74-66 verdict to South Korea in the knockout quarterfinals. Gilas could’ve finished fifth but lost to Qatar, 81-71, in its final outing.

Gilas succumbed to the pressure against Korea but was competitive throughout the close contest. Chris Tiu and Mac Baracael, usually deadly from the outside, were a combined 0-of-8 from three-point range. Korea allowed Taulava to frolic at the post in a strategic move to keep the ball away from Gilas’ perimeter shooters. Taulava, defying single coverage, banged in 23 points in a losing cause. Gilas hit 4-of-18 triples compared to Korea’s 6-of-18. In the battle for fifth, Qatar got a big lift from referees Naoniko Uchihara of Japan, Jun Zheng of China and Wu Ying Wei of Chinese-Taipei. Neutral referees from France, Brazil and Argentina were sidelined as Asian arbiters got the assignment in the game which saw Qatar knocking down 25-of-37 free throws compared to 16-of-23 for Gilas. Qatar won, 81-71.

Toroman said reinforcing Gilas with PBA players for the FIBA-Asia Championships is an issue still to be discussed by the country’s basketball officials but his own personal view is he welcomes it.

“Asi was a positive influence for us in Guangzhou,” said Toroman. “Kelly was veryproductive. Because Sol was coming off an injury, it took a while to get his game going. It’s not easy to come back from an injury. Look at the example of Carlos Boozer with the Chicago Bulls and even Ranidel de Ocampo with Talk ‘N’ Text. It takes time to jell. With the Miami Heat, it took several losses before their three stars finally got going.”

Toroman said Douthit’s entry will be a big boost for Gilas. “We’re happy with Marcus,” he said. “He’s a hard worker. He has no attitude problem. And he’s a family man. He fits the team and everyone likes him.”

Douthit is expected to be confirmed as a naturalized citizen early next year. When he receives his Philippine passport, Douthit will automatically be eligible to play for Gilas in the FIBA-Asia Championships.