The Philippine National Team, Smart Gilas Pilipinas easily defeated the Central Asian team of Uzbekistan as they controlled the tempo of the game from the very beginning and ended with 35 points led at 85-50.
Coach Chot Reyes was able to rest his first five on their match up with Uzbekistan, especially the ever-reliable Marcus Douthit and some of it’s main players at the same time give the much needed playing time for Gilas bench.
Jeff Chan had a breakout performance with a total of 20 points, including four three-pointers although he played only with a total of 18 minutes.
Jared Dillinger also scored in double figure but the most important part of the game was the participation of some players from Smart Gilas who were always ready for the support of the National Team. Almost all players scored evenly in the game.
Smart Gilas also seen some action and spectacular showmanship from the only amateur player on Gilas roster, Matt Ganuelas Rosser who scored with a total of 8 points. The game was also well attended by Filipinos in Japan who were giving their all-out support although the Nationals were never threatened.
SMART-Gilas wraps up its preliminary round campaign Sunday against Macau, before proceeding to the crossover knockout quarterfinal round.
The scores:
SMART-Gilas Pilipinas (85) – Chan 20, Dillinger 10, Douthit 9, Rosser 8, David 7, Fonacier 7, Reyes 7, Villanueva 6, De Ocampo 5, Norwood 4, Tenorio 2, Thoss 0.
Uzbekistan (50) – Denisov 16, Juginisov 12, Kozlov 6, Rahimov 6, Yakhin 6, Nuraliev 2, Tangrikulov 2, Kadirov 0, Nabiev 0, Safarov 0, Timofeev 0.
Smart Gilas vs. Uzbekistan Highlights Video:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i2a8ttLdj0
