FIBA Champs Cup: Nationals face former import, Iraqis

Pilipinas-Smart Gilas will seek a quarterfinals berth Tuesday when it plays Duhok-Iraq in the 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City. The Nationals gun for their third straight win against the Iraqis at 8 p.m. So interesting the game is between the Philippines and Iraq as the Nationals face a familiar foe — former naturalization candidate CJ Giles. Giles, who played for the Filipinos in 2009, is now the new reinforcement of Duhok-Iraq. Duhok-Iraq is winless in two games, but that doesn’t give Gilas coach Rajko Toroman a reason to take their rivals lightly. “This game will be tough for us. They have CJ Giles and they have a good import. We have to run and execute our offense well," said Toroman. The Filipinos dumped Westports KL Dragons-Malaysia, 95-64, for their second victory and the solo lead in Group A. In that game, the Nationals relied on Chris Lutz, JV Casio and Asi Taulava, who teamed up in a backbreaking third-quarter run. The Filipinos outscored the Malaysians, 26-9, in that stretch. “We defended really well in the third quarter and we took advantage of their turnovers," said Toroman. In other games, Al Jala’a-Syria clashes with United Arab Emirates’ Al Shabab at 2 p.m. while KL Dragons-Malaysia goes up against ASU-Jordan at 4 p.m. Al Rayyan-Qatar faces Al Riyadi-Lebanon in the third game at 6 p.m. - RJ/KBK, GMA News