Syria leaves Gilas cagers heartbroken in FIBA Cup

Already out of the running for a semifinals berth, Smart-Gilas Pilipinas suffered another heart-breaking setback, this time against Al Jalaa Syria’s, which completed a come-from-behind 83-81 win in the battle for fifth spot in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup at the Al Gharaffa Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Few days ago, the Filipinos rejoiced on their first and only victory in this strong tournament after Milan Vucicevic played a hero’s role with his buzzer-beater in the team’s 76-74 win over Duhok-Iraq. This time, the Filipinos got a dose of their own medicine and lost an energy-zapping last-second shot against the Syrians courtesy of a game-winning, quick release at the buzzer from Charif Al Charif. That shot capped Al Jalaa’s rally from 31-42 deficit at the half. It was a painful setback for the Filipinos, who just hours ago lost their chances of earning a semifinals berth after bowing to the mighty Al Riyadi-Lebanon team of Fadi El Khatib, 74-63. The national team aspirants’ best consolation after the loss was to match their previous fifth-place finish in Jakarta last year and appeared to be on track to achieving it. But a strong second half by Al Jalaa proved to be a reality check for the national developmental team that all games here would be a struggle for them. Al Jalaa imports Garnett Thomson and Michael Madanly combined for 40 points. Chris Tiu led Smart-Gilas with 17 points followed by Mac Baracael with 15. Japeth Aguilar played his most productive game for the Flipinos as he contributed 13 points. It was the fifth loss in six games for the Filipinos, the worst finish for the squad since the program started two years ago. The team went into a rigorous training in the United States and Australia prior to this tournament. Smart-Gilas also placed a strong third in the Dubai International tournament also this year. Al Jaala will play Kazakhstan’s Astana Tigers for the battle for fifth. Astana Tigers defeated Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, 64-50, behind another solid game from NBA prospect Anton Ponomarev, the 6-foot-10 standout who produced 14 markers. - Rey Joble, GMANews.TV