Rajko says don't count out Gilas

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Gilas national basketball team coach Rajko Toroman chose Iran, China and Lebanon as the biggest obstacles in the Philippines’ quest for a ticket to the London Olympics but wouldn’t rule out the Filipinos defying the odds at the FIBA-Asia Championships in Wuhan, China, on Sept. 15-25.

The Philippines is bracketed in Group D with China, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Group A is composed of Lebanon, Malaysia, South Korea and India. Group B is made up of Qatar, Chinese-Taipei, Iran and the Aug. 4 survivor of a four-way Middle Asia eliminator involving Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Japan, Indonesia, Syria and Jordan make up Group C.

In the tournament format, the first round will be a single round play within each group. The top three finishers of each group advance to the second round where six teams from Groups C and D converge and six teams from Groups A and B face off. The top four of the two groups in the second round then figure in a knockout playoff in the quarterfinals. In this crossover stage, No. 1 battles No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3. The winners advance in another crossover knockout game in the semifinals with the survivors disputing the championship in the finals. Only the champion will earn an automatic ticket to London. The three other semifinalists will be invited to participate in a global Olympic qualifier for three wildcard slots next year.

Toroman said he expects the Philippines to advance beyond the second round and draw either Qatar or South Korea in the knockout quarterfinals. But that will mean Gilas finishing first or second in its second round group. If Gilas drops to third or fourth, it will likely face Lebanon or Iran in the quarterfinals.

“This is a tournament where you can’t take any team lightly,” said Toroman. “Even Chinese-Taipei is dangerous because of Jeremy Lin who played for Golden State in the NBA last season. But I think the Philippines has the best chance in over 20 years to win a medal in FIBA-Asia. I’m not sure if the fans and sports officials realize how close we are to making it to the top three. In Asia, I’m convinced the Philippines is the best tactical-playing team with the smartest players. In terms of basketball IQ, I think our players are up there in Asia. Chris (Tiu) and Jvee (Casio) are two of the most intelligent players I’ve ever seen. Dondon (Hontiveros) is another very intelligent player.”

Hontiveros is one of five PBA players reinforcing Gilas in the FIBA-Asia competition. The others are Asi Taulava, Kelly Williams, Jimmy Alapag and Ranidel de Ocampo. “Right now, we’re working on our inner toughness, something we can address with Kelly, Ranidel and Asi,” Toroman continued. “We want our inside players to develop the kind of character that will make us compete against big guys. We want our players to give up their bodies, take the charge, power inside for second chance points, challenge shots and crash the boards. That’s something we want from Marcus (Douthit) and our inside guys.”

In Gilas’ probable rotation for Wuhan, Douthit and Taulava will alternate at five, Williams and De Ocampo at four, Marcio Lassiter and Mac Baracael at three, Casio, Hontiveros and Chris Lutz at two and Alapag, Tiu and Mark Barroca at one. Toroman, however, wouldn’t confirm the final lineup at the moment. Dylan Ababou, Japeth Aguilar and Jason Ballesteros are holdovers in the Gilas roster.

Toroman pointed out that Gilas’ “lucky” draw was a result of its semifinal finish at the Stankovic Cup in Beirut last year. The top four finishers were seeded to lead the four groups in the first round – Lebanon, Qatar, Japan and the Philippines. To qualify for the Stankovic Cup semifinals, Gilas upset Iran, 79-67. Gilas suffered a heartbreaker in the semifinals, losing an 81-80 cliffhanger to eventual titlist Lebanon.

Toroman explained that as host, China had the privilege of choosing its first round group before Iran, Jordan and South Korea. Of course, China picked the “easiest” group with Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and the Philippines.

Toroman said he was encouraged by Gilas’ performance in the recent FIBA-Asia Champions Cup where the Philippines narrowly lost to Iran, with two imports, by three in the semifinals. He said Champions Cup winner Lebanon is rumored to be suiting up 7-2 NBA veteran Loren Woods as its naturalized player replacing Jackson Vroman in Wuhan.

“I think the PBA players will be effective in our system,” said Toroman. “Dondon and Asi will be with us in the Jones Cup and we hope to get a chance to play in an international tournament in Dubai before the FIBA-Asia Championships. We have the talent to compete but we need games to generate chemistry. The way to win is to play as a team.”

Joaquin Henson, Philippine Star