Jordan stops Smart Gilas five; Rajko Toroman livid

HSINCHUANG, Taiwan—Jordan nailed a third straight win with a 76-72 decision of Smart Gilas Pilipinas in a wild William Jones Cup match Monday that had coach Rajko Toroman threatening to abandon the tournament in protest against the officiating.

Toroman, who stormed into the court after the final buzzer and confronted the game officials, said the Filipinos would pull out of the tournament if the same set of referees work their game again.

“If we see these referees again, we will walk out and go home,” said Toroman, whose side faces Malaysia Tuesday.

“I have never encountered this kind of officiating in my entire life. These guys are killing us.”

The Serbian mentor of the national five was particularly incensed by the officiating of Hong Kong referee Yuen Chun-Yip, who also made several questionable calls during the Filipinos’ win over host Chinese Taipei Sunday night.

But the big thorn on the Nationals’ side proved to be Enver Soobzokov, who unloaded back-to-back three-pointers as Jordan exploited a couple of Smart Gilas turnovers late in the game.

It was the first loss for the Nationals, whose stock rose after their humongous conquest of two-time defending champion and Asian titlist Iran, 73-59, Saturday.

Marcio Lassiter was called for a five-second violation after JV Casio’s game-tying three at 69. But Lassiter then stepped out of bounds, paving the way for the Soobzokov triple that gave Jordan a 74-69 lead with 1:55 left.

“We did a great job on Marcus (Douthit),” said Jordan coach Thomas Baldwin. “He’s a dangerous player and our purpose was to stop him from getting those points in the lane.”

Douthit, who averaged 23.5 points the past two games, finished with 10 points.

The Jordanians, who lost four of five previous games against Smart Gilas, acknowledged the Filipinos’ big improvement.

“The Philippine team is getting better every year,” said Baldwin. “They have a lot of skillful players and they seem to have grown in confidence.”

Though Smart Gilas shot a respectable 51 percent from the floor, the Filipinos were beaten off the boards, 39-27.

Yusuke Okada scored a tournament-high 33 points as Japan earlier tasted its first win in three games with a 92-85 triumph over United Arab Emirates (0-3).

The scores:

JORDAN 76—Zaghab 17, Daghles 16, Z. Abbas 14, Wright 12, Soozokov 8, Ruqayah 4, AbuQoura 3, M. Abbas 2, Hussain 0, Alfaraj 0, Alkhas 0.

SMART-GILAS 72—Barroca 13, Baracael 10, Douthit 10, Lutz 10, Tiu 8, Hontiveros 7, Casio 6, Lassiter 4, Taulava 2, Aguilar 2, Ballesteros 0, Ababou 0.

June Navarro, Inquirer.net
Quarters: 21-17; 34-32; 56-53; 76-72