Nationals pull off victory over Lebanon in Fiba tilt

The Smart-Gilas Pilipinas logged its first win in the Fiba Asia Cup with a 78-68 win over Lebanon yesterday in Tokyo, Japan.

Marcus Douthit led the Nationals with 25 points while LA Tenorio and Gary David chipped in 11 each as the Gilas improved to 1-1 (win-loss).

The Nationals lost their first game against powerhouse China, 71-68, last Friday.

The Nationals turned the tide in the third canto, where they bested their opponents, 21-12, to erect a lead they would not surrender until the end.

Lebanon led after the first two quarters, 41-38, but failed to hold on as Douthit, who also had  21 rebounds, combined efforts with Tenorio, David, Jeff Chan and Jared Dillinger to give the Filipinos a 59-53 lead going into the final canto.

The Gilas remained ahead as two freebies from Douthit gave them their biggest lead of the game at nine, 70-61, in the fourth.

But Lebanon threatened and came within four on two occasions only to be countered each time by crucial baskets by David.

Freethrows by Tenorio and a basket by Jared Dillinger finally settled the final tally for the Gilas.

The Nationals made most of their shots in the inside led by Douthit as they outscored the Lebanese, 34-18, in points in the paint.

The Filipinos also converted more off the boards as they outhustled their opponents for a 10-2 advantage in second-chance points.

El Cheikh Fadi El Khatib  led the losing squad with 24 points and 15 rebounds while Garnett James Thompson added 17 markers and 11 boards.

The Lebanese, who dropped to 1-1, couldn’t take advantage of their size since they were struggling to play consistent. They comitted 17 errors, which the Gilas turned to crucial points. The Philippines led in points off turnovers, 13-9.

Lebanon failed to follow up its impressive 120-51 rout of Macau in the opening day of the biennial meet known before as the Fiba Asia Stankovic Cup.  This meet is the qualifying event for the Fiba Asia Championship.