Gilas five vents ire on UAE cagers, 92-67

A day after suffering a stinging setback at the hands of an Egyptian squad, the Smart Gilas-Pilipinas men’s basketball team buckled down to work and got back to its winning ways, whipping Sharjah Club-United Arab Emirates, 92-67, in the 22nd Dubai International Basketball tournament Saturday at the Al Ahli Club Gym. Import Marcus Douthit registered a double-double while Marcio Lassiter stepped up his offensive game in leading the Filipinos to their second win in three matches in this tournament. Douthit finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead the way for Smart Gilas. Lassiter contributed 17 markers while former UAAP MVP and University of Santo Tomas standout Dylan Ababou added 13 points. Skipper Chris Tiu tallied 10 while JV Casio had nine points on top of eight rebounds. The Filipinos are now half a game behind Group B leader Egypt, which has a 2-0 card. The Pinoy cagers flexed their muscles in the second quarter, pulling away to a 44-33 lead before closing the third period with a comfortable 18-point advantage, 68-50. The UAE five didn’t recover from there. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV