Egypt's Alexandria dwarfs Smart Gilas

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Gilas Pilipinas ran into a taller, bigger Al Etihad Alexandria of Egypt and absorbed a 72-85 defeat following its rousing opening day victory in the 22nd Dubai Invitational basketball tournament at the Al Ahli Club Gym yesterday.

JV Casio, named the Best Guard in this same tournament last year when the Filipinos finished a strong third, erupted for 26 points but couldn’t draw enough support from his teammates as the Nationals fell to their first loss against the same number of wins in this 10-day tournament.

“Sadly, we lost to Egypt’s best club team composed of some Egyptian national players including their star forward named Ismael along with two huge American imports,” said Jude Roque, Smart Gilas assistants coach.

The Egyptians used their height advantage to the hilt as they made life difficult for the Filipinos as well as naturalization candidate Marcus Douthit, who struggled with just eight points and nine rebounds following a superb debut Friday.

The 6-10 Douthit, who is awaiting President Aquino’s signature for naturalization, had 16 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks in a 70-57 win over Anibal Zahle of Lebanon.

Against the formidable Egyptian defense, Douthit crumbled under pressure.

“Alexandria used its height advantage inside the paint to defeat our gutsy Smart Gilas boys,” said Roque.

Al Etihad made its move in the second quarter when it turned a slim 23-18 lead to a 43-33 advantage going into the break. The Egyptians made it even bigger in the third canto as they led by 17 points, 70-53.

Smart Gilas though tried to turn things around in the last period with a furious, desperate rally that was nipped in the bud by Al Etihad’s stonewall interior defense.

Although it derailed the Filipinos’ bid for a higher seeding in the playoff round, Smart Gilas manager Frankie Lim thinks they are capable of bouncing back.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow but the tournament is early, we have a chance to bounce back and I know we will,” said Lim.

Smart Gilas will take a one-day breather today before it shoots for win No. 2 against winless Sharjah Club of UAE on Monday and then Al Wahda of Syria on Tuesday.

The other bracket is composed of Lebanese club teams Sagesse and Hoop and the UAE national squad.