Gilas cagers earn bronze, respect of Asian rivals

(Update) DUBAI — Smart Gilas Pilipinas capped an impressive showing in the 21st Dubai International Tournament with a 107-98 win over Syria's Al Jalaa to capture the bronze medal - and the respect of opponents - Saturday before a horde of overseas Filipino workers at the Al Ahli Club here. Marnel Baracael tossed in 26 points while Mark Barroca unloaded 18 of his 21 points in the final period for Gilas, which converted 18 straight freethrows in the closing minutes and scored 40 points in the fourth. Barroca buried a three-pointer followed by Baracael's freethrows that allowed the all-local Gilas crew to take a 91-83 lead entering the last two minutes. The Syrians then opted to send the Filipinos to the charity stripe in an effort to stop the clock, producing 18 consecutive freethrows made for Gilas. “We're disappointed after the loss (to Al Riyadi in Friday’s semifinals). But we recovered pretty well and showed mental toughness in the end,'' said RP coach Rajko Toroman after Gilas climbed from several double-digit deficits before churning out the win. Freebies by Japeth Aguilar and Chris Tiu gave the Nationals their first taste of the lead, 78-76. Barroca then fired a three-pointer and Baracael sank his freethrows to make it 89-83, forcing the Syrians to foul the Filipinos in the succeeding possessions inside two minutes. Iran's Mahram defeated Al Riyadi of Lebanon, 85-67, to clinch the crown in the championship match. Samad Nikkah Bahrami was named MVP while Gilas’ JV Casio won the best guard award and ex-Gilas prospect CJ Giles of Al Riyadi was adjudged best center. “This tournament allowed us to earn the respect of the other Asian teams,'' said Toroman, who also thanked overseas Filipino workers for their unflinching support. Toroman again benched import Jamal Sampson and relied on the locals to get back at the Syrians, their tormentors in the elimination round. To close the huge gap in the middle, Toroman utilized 6-foot-7 Jason Ballesteros for extended minutes along with Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter to seal the paint against the size and height of Al Jalaa. Apart from being reinforced by three Americans — seven-footer Zendon Hamilton, 6-foot-10 Garnett Thompson and guard Demetric Shaw — Al Jalaa has three Brazilian-Syrians in Marcelle Correa (6-10), Eder Gorges (6-11) and Michael Maadanli, who had with 23 points. Gilas bowed to Al Jalaa in its very first game in the Dubai cagefest, 76-90, but bounced back with victories over taller and heftier teams Champville of Lebanon, 77-71; Zain of Jordan, 85-82; and a rough Al Nasr of the UAE, 79-72. The Nationals tripped Al Jazeera of Egypt in the quarterfinals, 82-78, but yielded a 76-79 setback to powerhouse Al Riyadi of Lebanon in the final four. - GMANews.TV