Toroman believes PHL 5 can still reach Asiad medal round

GUANGZHOU, China – Banged up and undermanned, the Philippine-Smart Gilas team remains confident of reaching the medal round of the 16th Asian Games men’s basketball competition. The PHL 5 now has a 1-2 slate in Group F following a heart-breaking 58-60 loss to Japan Friday night at the Huangpu Gymnasium. Gilas guard JV Casio had a chance to send the game into overtime, but his fade-away jumper missed the mark and Team Philippines suffered its second loss in three games in the quadrennial event. The Japanese remain undefeated in Group F with a 3-0 mark, followed by Iran, Qatar and Chinese Taipei (2-1). India has yet to win after three games. Only the top four teams will advance into the knockout crossover quarterfinal stage where the top team in Group E faces the fourth ranked team in Group F, E2 vs. F3, E3 vs. E2 and E4 vs. F1. The Philippines will face India on Sunday and Taiwan on Monday. Coach Rajko Toroman is hoping his wards will clinch at least the No. 3 spot to avoid meeting host China in the next phase. “I think the situation now is we will fight for the No. 3 position and maybe the good side of the loss is we have to pass through Korea and it’s better to go against them in the quarterfinals," said Toroman. Host China and South Korea are currently tied in Group E with 3-0 records. They will collide Sunday at the Guangzhou International Sports Arena. Jordan is in third position (2-1), followed by Mongolia (1-2), Uzbekistan (0-3) and North Korea (0-3). “It will be good if Qatar loses its last two games against Japan and Iran and we will be sure to become No. 3. Otherwise, we have to beat Chinese Taipei to be No. 3," Toroman added. The Qataris bowed to PHL 5 by a huge margin, 68-90, and in case they end up with the same slate as the Philippines, the latter will move up due to the win-over-the-other rule. But right now, Toroman wants his team to focus on their last two games. The men’s basketball competition takes a break Saturday. The PHL 5 is expected to prevail against the lowly Indians on Sunday at the Ying Dong Gymnasium, before they face off with the Taiwanese on Monday in the last day of the preliminary round. Chinese Taipei dropped a close 72-70 decision to Qatar the other day night and meets Iran Sunday, the game it must win to stay alive for a quarterfinal slot. – JVP/KY, GMANews.TV