SMART GILAS SEMIS BID: ALL BOILS DOWN TO JAPAN GAME

What a final day of eliminations in the 33rd William Jones Cup Basketball Championship in Taipei. With South Korea virtually in, four other countries are vying for the remaining three semi final slots in the prestigious annual international meet. Defending champions Iran, Jordan, Chinese-Taipei and the Philippines are all currently locked up with 4-2 win-loss slates behind the pace-setting Koreans (5-1). A victory by Smart Gilas Team Pilipinas against dangerous Japan today will send coach Rajko Toroman’s charges outright into the final four. However, if the much-improved Japan scores an upset win then things will get complicated for Smart Gilas. Jordan and Iran will try to knock each other out, while Chinese-Taipei will try to score a win over the Sokors to ensure their entry into the semis. A possible three-way tie is also possible if the Philippines drop their game vs. Japan, a Chinese-Taipei loss and the loser of the Iran-Jordan tiff. The quotient system will then determine who goes in. Toroman remains upbeat of their chances against Japan but he also knows that it will not be an easy outing for the Nationals, “Japan is a good team, they have players who never give up and they have great shooters. I think though that we have an advantage inside and we have to use that. But it won’t be an easy game.”