Gilas 5 wallops Ginebra, sets up title match with Jordan

No import? No problem for Smart-Gilas Pilipinas. The national team aspirants bucked the absence of the injured Marcus Douthit with their fast-paced game as they humbled the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, 82-75, in the 2010 Smart Philippine Invitational Challenge Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Smart-Gilas mentor Rajko Toroman opted to rest his 6-foot-10 center, who injured his ankle, and utilized local slotman Greg Slaughter more against the Gin Kings. He was able to hold his own against his more experienced counterparts from Ginebra like Enrico Villanueva, Yancy de Ocampo, Rudy Hatfield, Eric Menk, John Ferriols and import Denham Brown. Slaughter finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. But the national developmental squad was able to take advantage more of its young legs with guards Chris Lutz producing 15 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes while fellow Fil-am Marcio Lassiter adding 13 points and four rebounds in a victory that sealed the team’s entry in the finals against Jordan. "We were very disappointed with the result last night, but I hope that we’ve learned our lessons from yesterday and that we will be more prepared. I also hope our offense would be more effective against the zone," said Toroman. "And if Marcus (Douthit) plays, we will make some changes in our offense." The Jordanians dumped the Filipinos, 83-75, Friday night, and Toroman is hoping for a better competition in the finals. The national team aspirants converted almost half of their three-point attempts, hitting 11 of 24 shots from that area. "I think we played a very good game today. We missed a lot of opportunities, but we did well tactically, we played together and we shared the ball and these are the reasons why I am satisfied," said Toroman. Villanueva had 13 points and eight rebounds for Ginebra while Mike Cortez tallied 10 points and five assists. The backcourt tandem of Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand were used by coach Jong Uichico, this time, to the delight of the crowd. The two combined for 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. Jordan served notice of its title aspirations after dumping Dongguan New Century, 69-55, in the other game. The win was the third in as many games for the Jordanians, who are poised to complete their mission with a perfect record here when they face the Smart-Gilas national developmental team Sunday for the winner-take-all championship. The FIBA World Championship-bound squad was led by Mohammad Hadrab, who finished with with 16 points on a 6-of-9 shooting even as guard Mousa Alawadi added 12 points to help the Jordanians’ sweep of the elimination round. Jordan opened its campaign by defeating Barangay Ginebra, 84-81, then controlled the tempo in the second half to defeat Smart Gilas, 83-75. Although they gained one up over the Nationals, coach Mario Palma expect a different match this time around. "I think it's going to be a different game in the finals," Palma said. "In our previous match, the Philippine team played bad in the second half and I think they need to avoid mistake and get the necessary help inside." Jordan's naturalized point guard Rasheim Wright, who is still trying to get back into shape after nursing an ACL injury, scored 10 points in just 20 minutes. He sat out the whole duration of the fourth quarter. The Jordanians led by 22 points 56-34 early in the fourth quarter and never looked back from there. - RCJ, GMANews.TV