PH Smart Gilas books 3rd win

THE Smart Gilas Pilipinas earned their third straight win after trouncing the rugged Duhok of Iraq, 74-64 late Tuesday in the ongoing FIBA-Asia Champion’s Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Marcus Douthit had 14 points and 15 rebounds in his personal duel with former Gilas player CJ Giles, who had 20 points and 23 rebounds. The Nationals were playing ASU-Jordan as of press time for the top seed in Group A and the right to face Al Jala’a-Syria in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Al Ittihad-Saudi Arabia clinched a quarterfinal seat after routing Westports KL Dragons-Malaysia, 98-76, in the final day of the preliminaries. Darren Kelly had 36 points including seven three-pointers while Vladislav Dragajlovic dominated inside with 32 points and 16 rebounds as the Saudis notched their second win in four games. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio