Gilas rips UAE sans 2 'ineligible' Fil-Ams

WUHAN – Not even the sidelining of key Fil-Am wingmen Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz could prevent Smart Gilas Pilipinas from making an impressive start in the 26th FIBA Asia championship at the Wuhan Sports Centre here last night.

The Nationals rallied behind Lassiter and Lutz and clobbered the United Arab Emirates side, 92-52.

“We’re already small team and then we became the smallest in the world (minus Lassiter and Lutz). But it’s not time to cry. We’ll fight whatever happens,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

“Nobody knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. It would be great if we can have the two. If not, we’ll still be there fighting,” Toroman added.

The Smart Gilas mentor couldn’t understand why FIBA waited for the eve of the tournament to decide on these eligibilities.

“We could have done something different. We could have put in (reserve) Dylan Ababou. Now we are not allowed to put in anybody else (as replacement),” rued Toroman.

The Nationals took sometime to get their game going, but there’s no stopping them as soon as they found their rhythm.

“It was a tough situation. We’re distracted. We’re only able to get going as we set it aside and focused on the game,” said Asi Taulava, leading Smart Gilas with a double-double game with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Mac Baracael, playing the wing spot with Lassiter and Lutz out, led all scorers with 15 points with Marcus Douthit, Jayvee Casio, Mark Barroca and Chris Tiu adding at least nine points each.

Baracael himself scored the first basket for the Filipinos with already three minutes into the game. UAE scored the game’s first five points.

The Nationals established control towards the end of the first quarter and roared on to the finish.

Toroman said they would have to make big adjustments to make it if Lassiter and Lutz are not given the green light to play.

But he said federation officials back home are doing something.

“We might have to put some guys in positions they don’t play before. We’re facing tough circumstances,” said Toroman.

In the earlier games on the first day of competition, Jordan drubbed Syria, 71-58; Iran topped Chinese Taipei, 49-37; and Korea clobbered Malaysia, 89-42.

NOTES: The Smart Gilas team had a tiring trip to this capital city of Hubei province, taking almost 16 hours before settling in their hotel rooms Tuesday. Their connecting flight from Beijing to Wuhan was delayed for four hours due to poor visibility around Beijing airport. The team missed   practice due to the long haul.