Toroman satisfied with Gilas' performance

MANILA, Philippines – Smart Gilas Pilipinas head coach Rajko Toroman said he was satisfied with his wards’ performance in the 2011 William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei.

Smart Gilas settled for 3rd place in the tournament, defeating host Chinese Taipei 82-72. Iran, meanwhile, completed a 3-peat after a 66-59 win over South Korea.

Toroman said that he was satisfied with the result, as this year’s Jones Cup was tougher than previous editions.

"Last year, it was not a strong tournament," Toroman said in an interview with ANC’s Hardball.

The Serbian mentor added that some teams, including Japan and Korea, did not participate in last year's Jones Cup.

More teams took part in this year's tournament, which serves as a tune-up for the FIBA Asia Championship in September.

"I think that it was a very difficult tournament, because you have to play 9 games in 9 days," Toroman said.

"We went there with 12 players and we finished with 10," he added.

Toroman said that Smart Gilas was very competitive, even with the other teams adding reinforcements.

"Korea brought one naturalized player, Jordan also changed their coach and they played much better than last year," Toroman said.

The nationals' bid for the championship was foiled by defending champion Iran, whose line-up included Hamed Haddadi of the Memphis Grizzlies.

"It was a great, great competition, but it was very tough, very difficult for the players," Toroman said.

Stronger team for FIBA Asia

For the FIBA Asia tournament, Smart Gilas will be reinforced by PBA players Kelly Williams, Jimmy Alapag and Ranidel de Ocampo, all from Talk N Text.

The 3 pros were unable to play in the Jones Cup as they are currently playing in the PBA Governors Cup Finals.

Even with the added firepower, Toroman is expecting a difficult tournament.

"It will be the strongest competition in the last... probably 6 years," Toroman said.

He said that the national team scheduled another tournament in Doha, Qatar next week, and they are hoping that the Talk N Text players will be with the team by then.

"With these 3 guys, we'll be more than competitive in FIBA Asia," Toroman promised.

The FIBA Asia championship will be held in Wuhan, China on September 15-25. It will serve as the qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The Philippines last won the FIBA Asia championship in 1985. This year, they are seeded with Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and China in Group D of the tournament

Camile Narredo, ABS-CBN News