FIBA-Asia: Gilas beats Japan, clinches q'finals berth

Smart Gilas-Pilipinas pounded Japan inside to score an 83-76 win and clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of the 26th FIBA-Asia Championship For Men at the Wuhan gymnasium in China. Marcus Douthit powered his way in the paint for 25 points, 18 rebounds and three blocked shots to typify the Nationals' dominance of the shaded area and and cancel out Japan's 12 three-pointers. The Nationals outrebounded the opposition, 44-31, and outscored them in the paint, 52-20. "In a game like this, the team that controlled the boards, controlled the game. The Philippines beat us inside," said Japan's American coach Thomas Wisman. "Marcus really dominated the paint. He was huge for us today," said Chris Lutz of his 6-foot-10 naturalized teammate. Gilas has won its second straight game in the second round and is now in a perfect position to finish second in Group F for a favorable placing in the knockout stage of the Olympic qualifier for the London Games in 2012. The quarterfinals begin on Friday. Gilas plays Syria at 6 p.m. Wednesday for its final game in the second round. Toroman's analysis "We're happy with the win. We played as a full team for the first time," said Gilas' Serbian coach Rajko Toroman. "We're in a good situation right now and expects Chinese Taipei to be our opponent in the quarterfinals. And that was our goal before this game," Toroman added. Jimmy Alapag fired bombs from the outside by going 3-of-5 from three-point range to finish with 15, along with Marcio Lassiter, who held down prolific Japanese scorer Takuya Kawamura to just 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting. "We stopped Kawamura, that's one of the key in the game," said Toroman. "We played good in the second half by dominating the rebounds. At the end of the day, I think we deserve to win the game." Big man Joji Takeuchi led Japan with 22 points including 4-of-8 from three-point range. He sparked Japan's last ditch rally in the homestretch by scoring seven straight to cut down what once was a 13-point deficit, to just 80-74 in the final 69 seconds. Alapag doused the rally by making two free throws for an 82-74 lead. — JVP, GMA News