I was in a quandary last night regarding what to watch on the boob tube. The Smart Gilas Team Pilipinas is in a very crucial game against co-unbeaten ASU squad of Jordan in the 22nd FIBA Asia Champions Cup. At the same time, I did not catch the live morning telecast of game one of the 2011 NBA finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks, which I promised myself to watch the replay of the entire game later in the evening. At the last minute, through the prodding of my wife, I decided to tune-in instead to the Gilas game. That makes sense after all, considering that it is a live game and is more of an utmost importance for us being Filipinos. And the rest is history. God knows I made the correct and wise choice. Smart Gilas played its best game in the tourney as they nipped Jordan, 76-74 in a pulsating encounter. The win made the Nationals the top-seeded team in Group B. It was one heck of an emotional game. Birthday boy and veteran forward Dondon Hontiveros, one of two PBA players in the team, exploded for a team-high 23 points, while JV Casio, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz delivered in the clutch to repulse the bigger and powerful Jordanian five. But it was the inspiring game of old warrior Asi Taulava which made the win more remarkable. He endlessly battled Jordan’s big men in the paint. Gilas head coach Rajko Toroman says the game showed the typical tactical war in an international game and also gave credit to Taulava’s contributions to the well-deserved victory.
“This was a typical international game. Very tactical. They had the size, but I think we did very well to stop them. Of course we ran into foul trouble, but that is a part of the game. I have been saying from day one that Asi’s presence in the team is a great strength for us. He made us breathe a lot easier in defense.”
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