RP Gilas 5 seeks semis slot vs Egypt's Al Jazeera

DUBAI — Smart Gilas steered clear of danger after getting a relatively lighter rival - Egypt's Al Jazeera - in the quarterfinals of the 21st Dubai International Basketball Tournament here. After finishing with a 3-1 record, Gilas grabbed the No. 2 seeding in Group B behind Al Jalaa of Syria, which swept its elimination-round assignments. The Syrians will meet the United Arab Emirates’ national team in the crossover quarterfinals.

Al Riyadi of Lebanon topped Group A after stunning Mahram, Iran's national team, and will face another Lebanese ball club, Champville, which landed fourth in Group B. Mahram also advanced into the next phase and will clash with Zain of Jordan, turning an expected championship match into a quarterfinal face-off. “They're (Al Jazeera) not so tall but they are aggressive and sometimes play dirty,'' said RP coach Rajko Toroman. The Serbian coach noted that the Egyptians have a uniform ceiling of 6-foot-4 to 6-foot-6 except for their import, 6-foot-10 Jarred Merill, who played for Oklahoma Christian University. “He's left-handed and has a good range so we have to take care of him,'' said Toroman. Injuries to Dylan Ababou, Chris Tiu and Jamal Sampson have started to weigh down on Gilas. Ababou will wear a mask after fracturing his nose against Zain while Tiu sustained several bruises on the legs and arms aside from a busted lip against UAE's Al Nasr even as the 6-foot-11 Sampson is still wary about his left knee. “We have to be at the same level if we want to win. We should be very smart and aggressive. They (Al Jazeera) don't play high-quality basketball like Zain, Riyadi or Al Jalaa but they have some special warriors,'' said Toroman. Despite the wear and tear of playing in a highly-physical atmosphere, Toroman remains optimistic about their chances of landing into the semifinals. “I'm confident that we will make it because we're playing good in this tournament,'' said Toroman. Marnel Baracael, JV Casio and Tiu are averaging double figures in scoring while Jason Ballesteros has become a revelation for Gilas. The 6-foot-7 Ballesteros has been effectively manning the slot while Sampson spends his time on the bench. On defense, Toroman noted that Filipino-American Marcio Lassiter, Mark Barroca and Baracael have also been quite impressive. - GMANews.TV