FIBA-Asia:Toroman wary of Gilas' opening-day foe UAE

WUHAN, China – The waiting game ends where the real battle begins for Smart Gilas-Pilipinas. The Nationals’ bold dream of ending the country’s four decades of Olympic drought sets into motion Thursday at the start of the 26th edition of the FIBA-Asia Championship For Men, the very tournament for which this high-profiled, well-funded Philippine team was primarily formed three years ago. Bolstered by the presence of four professional players and an intimidating, 6-foot-10 naturalized center with a wide wingspan, the Nationals launch off their campaign against United Arab Emirates in one of eight games scheduled on a busy opening day in this capital city in the province of Hubei, Smart Gilas tackles UAE at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Wuhan gymnasium. Not since coach Ignacio`Ning’ Ramos and his 1972 team, bannered by the 70s hotshots, from the late Narciso Bernardo to the sweet-shooting Bogs Adornado, competed in the Munich Games, had there been a Philippine quintet play again in the Olympics. A striking win at the expense of UAE would certainly set the pace for the Nationals, quarterfinalists during the last FIBA-Asia staging in Tianjin, China two years ago. UAE however, is not regarded as a big threat to the championship. The bigger threats are Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon and two-time defending champion Iran. Still Toroman, the Serbian mentor who knows international basketball like the palm of his hand, isn’t about to take their opponents for granted. “I think we are a better team, but if you underestimate them, we’ll be in serious trouble," said Toroman, who arrived with his 14-man team here late Tuesday afternoon. Smart Gilas already had a glimpse of how UAE plays, which the Nationals defeated handily, 95-60, during their encounter in last month’s Jones Cup basketball tournament in Taipei. However, Toroman wouldn’t be swayed to believe that it's going to be a breeze for the Nationals notwithstanding that whopping 35-point victory last month. “We beat them in Jones Cup, but we have to be very, very serious against UAE," he said of their opponent, which played coach Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke Blue Devils in a friendly game in Dubai in late August. “I was watching the game against Duke. They’re not looking bad, they have athletic players and have wing position. UAE is not a bad team. They have some quality players and a new coach, a Bosnian guy (Brian Lester)," added Toroman, who steered Iran to its first ever FIBA-Asia championship in 2007 and a berth in the 2008 Beijing Games. “It will be very difficult, but we have to win this game." Only the champion at the end of the two-week long event, which China is hosting for the second straight edition, gets to earn a berth in the 2012 London Olympics. But Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman, 52, remains optimistic anything can happen once the Philippines – the second winningest team after China in the 51-year-history of the meet – makes it to the knockout stage of the tourney. After UAE, the Nationals next face Yi Jianlian and mighty China, before rounding out their preliminary campaign against Bahrain in Group D. Other matches up on opening day are Syria-Jordan, two-time defending champion Iran against Chinese-Taipei, Japan-Indonesia, Malaysia versus Korea, China-Bahrain, Qatar-Uzbekistan, and Lebanon-India. - OMG, GMA News