2013 FIBA Asia Championship: Gilas survives Douthit injury, Qatar comeback, to improve to 3-1

(Updated 10:34pm) Gilas Pilipinas' big lead at the half proved to be big enough in the face of a late Qatar rally, as the host nation held on for an 80-70 victory, Tuesday at the MOA Arena, in the second round of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

With the win, the Philippines improved to 3-1 in Group E, tying their foes in the process. Should the Philippines best Hong Kong, and Qatar get revenge by dropping Chinese Taipei on Wednesday, there exists the chance of Gilas claiming the top seed in the group due to the quotient system, with each of the three teams boasting of 4-1 records.

Gilas conceded only two field goals to Qatar in the second quarter, and led by as much as 20 points, while outscoring their foes, 27-9 in that period.

The home team then stretched their advantage to 23 markers, 55-32 in the third, but disaster struck at the 4:09 mark, when Marcus Douthit seemingly hurt his knee after a Qatar player fell on him. The naturalized center had to be subbed out, and the rest of the Gilas squad played on gamely without him.

Former NBA player Jarvis Hayes and the rest of the Qatar side then made a comeback in the fourth, stringing together a 10-2 run to get the lead down to 74-65, with two minutes to play. However, Qatar couldn't deliver down the stretch as Jayson Castro wrapped the game up from the free throw line.

Despite the injury, Douthit finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Japeth Aguilar came off the bench for 14 markers and seven boards, missing just one of his six field goal attempts, while Jeff Chan scored 12, nine coming on three-pointers.

"We put a lot of effort on defense. In the second half we were up by 20 points...but we expected they'd make a run. We did a good job managing our win," said Aguilar after the game, adding that playing at home was a huge motivation in his recent string of good performances.

"It's not only about myself. It's about our team chemistry and those moments given to me. Kaya ko nagagawa 'yon dahil sa team din," he finished.

"Pending a miracle, I think we just arranged a date with China in the quarterfinals. If it happens, so be it," said Gilas head coach Chot Reyes, saying that they were determined to play well for the fans. "We just have to find a way to play a game like this to give us a chance. Now we gotta prepare hard for what is going to be the biggest battle of the tournament."

Reyes said that Douthit, who suffered a knee injury, will undergo a check-up tomorrow. However, the former Talk 'N Text tactician said that Douthit is likely to play, barring a severe injury.

"We trained for playing all these game back-to-back. If we take something out of the mixture, it might take away some of his timing," said Reyes. He also revealed that Ranidel De Ocampo has been playing with an MCL injury.

Gilas logged a solid first five minutes, opening the game with consecutive treys from Jeff Chan. Marcus Douthit then added six points inside to complement another triple from LA Tenorio, 15-6.

Khalid Abdi broke the run with an incomplete four-point play, but Qatar halted their own momentum as their bench received a technical foul for improper decorum. Tenorio made both bonus charities, though the setback turned out to be temporary for Qatar. They effectively sealed off the paint in the last four minutes, while Jarvis Hayes and company found easy layups on their end. With 35 seconds to go, Daoud Mousa Daoud equalized the tally with a driving and-one, 20-20, at the end of the first.

Both teams dug in defensively in the second period, but Qatar was the first to crack. They conceded another two charities off a technical foul on coach Thomas Robert Wisman, 24-22. Gilas' frontcourt had more success as well, as Japeth Aguilar and Douthit muscled their way inside for 10 points in a 16-3 romp, adding triples from Chan and Jimmy Alapag, to lead 40-25.

After a slow start, Gary David finally scored, as the fans cheered him on in the last two minutes, on a three-pointer and a driving layup, helping Gilas lead 47-29 at the end of two quarters.

Gilas gave up only two field goals to Qatar during the entire second quarter, holding them to a 10-of-39 (26 percent) shooting clip. In contrast, the locals shot 14-of-36 (39 percent), including 7-of-17 (41 percent) from beyond the arc, where Qatar made just eight percent, having missed all but one of their 13 three-point tries.


Douthit scored immediately when play resumed, giving Gilas a 20-point cushion. Gilas though was content to match Qatar's makes, keeping the lead steady throughout the period.

With under four minutes to play, Douthit hurt his knee in a collision beneath the Qatari basket. To the relief of the Filipino fans, he got up after a minute or two and skipped back to the bench. After three quarters, Gilas led 63-44.

Qatar went on a 9-2 burst to start the fourth quarter, capped by an and-one by Erfan Saeed, 65-53. But unlike the game against Chinese Taipei, Gilas called a timeout and returned fire, 72-55, behind great penetration plays by Douthit and Tenorio.

Hayes rallied his troops one last time, launching a 10-2 run that drew them within single digits, 74-65, with two minutes to play.

Qatar forced a 24-second violation on Gilas and called a timeout. When they took to the floor anew, Hayes drew a foul on a layup, but missed both free throws. However, Gilas couldn't take advantage, turning the ball over during the inbounds play with a minute and change on the clock.

Mansour Elhadary was poised to take a long jumper, but the officials blew the whistle before he released the ball. After some conferral, Qatar was awarded two points, to the confusion of everyone in the arena, 74-67.

Qatar resorted to intentional fouls, sending Jayson Castro to the line where he split, 75-67, with 48 ticks left. After Qatar came up empty anew, Castro returned to the stripe, making both this time. Aguilar slammed home a lob in the final seconds to add to split freebies by Chan, and Hayes nailed a buzzer triple to finalize the tally.

"They gave us a lesson in 40-minute intensity. It only takes one quarter of great intensity that we didn't match that made the difference in the ball game. Our second quarter was unacceptable," said Qatar's coach Wisman after the game.

"In the second quarter, the defense and offense were [was] so terrible on our side. The ball wasn't moving from side to side, [resulting in] a lot of one-on-one and missed shots," agreed Saeed.

"This is a wake-up call for us. It's good to lose a game in the first round or second round, but not in the knockout games. We still have a chance to finish first in our group. If we can't beat Taiwan, we have 14 hours to come back and play our A-game tomorrow."

Gilas didn't make a single three-pointer in the second half, but finished with a 25-of-65 (40 percent) field goal clip, counting 7-of-24 (29 percent) from downtown. Qatar went 26-of-79 (33 percent), 5-of-26 (19 percent) from long-range.

At the line, Gilas went 21-of-24 (88 percent), while Qatar was 13-of-20 (65 percent). Gilas also held a 53-41 rebounding margin.

Jarvis Hayes scored 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Erfan Saeed chipped in 11 markers for Qatar. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Philippines 80 - Douthit 19, Aguilar 14, Chan 12, Castro 7, Tenorio 7, Alapag 5, David 5, De Ocampo 4, Norwood 3, Pingris 2, Fonacier 2, Fajardo 0

Qatar 70 - Hayes 17, Saeed 13, Abdi 9, Musa 8, Daoud 8, Elhadary 5, Mohamed 4, Mohammed 4, Mohammed Saleem Abdullah 2, Malek Saleem Abdullah 0, Saad 0, Ali 0

Quarter scoring: 20-20, 47-29, 63-44, 80-70