FIBA-Asia: Near brawl mars Gilas loss to China

Smart Gilas-Pilipinas tumbled to its first loss in the 26th FIBA-Asia Championship For Men, dropping a 60-75 setback at the hands of host China Friday night at the Wuhan gymnasium here. Nine straight unanswered points by the mighty Chinese did the Nationals in late in the first period of the match marred by a near free-for-all between the coaching staff of both squads. The 9-0 blast paved the way for the host to stretch a slim 13-12 lead to 22-13 ending the opening quarter. It was 43-21 at the break after Zhu Fangyu connected on two free throws seven seconds remaining before halftime after Nationals coach Rajko Toroman was called for a technical foul for excessive complaining. The incident led to coaches of both teams emptying the bench as Chinese head mentor Bob Donewald Jr. reportedly called Toroman an `a@#%…hole’ just as the Serbian was talking to the tournament commissioner at the scorer’s table during a lull. The verbal tussle extended all the way to the dugout, this time involving Smart Gilas assistant coaches Ryan Gregorio and Chot Reyes who exchanged heated words with Donewald and staff member Peter Philo that almost led to a fistfight. The timely intervention of security officials in the venue prevented the incident from escalating into a brawl. “We heard him (Donewald) say to the commissioner `we’re just too big, and they’re just too small. And he’s an a@#%hole,’ said Gregorio later. “The commissioner heard that too, and he said he’s going to report it to (FIBA-Asia) officials. Less than 24 hours following the loss to the Chinese, the Nationals (1-1) return to action by taking on Bahrain at 11 a.m. Saturday, looking for a win that will seal their slot in the next round of the Olympic qualifier to the 2012 London Olympics. Marcus Douthit led the Nationals with 17 points and 10 rebounds as he held his own against NBA star and China’s main man Yi Jianlian. Yi had 20 points and 17 rebounds for the Chinese, who improved to 2-0. Smart Gilas beat United Arab Emirates in its first outing, 92-52. - OMG, GMA News The scores: China (75) – Yi 20, Wang 16, Sun 15, Zhu 13, Zhang 3, Liu 2, Zhang B 2, Yi L 2, Ding 1, Yu 1, Su 0, Xirelijiang 0. Smart Gilas (60) – Douthit 17, Tiu 12, Williams 6, Casio 5, Alapag 5, Baracael 4, Aguilar 4, De Ocampo 3, Barroca 2, Taulava 2,. Quarterscores: 22-13: 43-21; 55-40; 75-60