Smart Gilas Pilipinas faces Chinese Taipei for a seat in Fiba Asia c’ship semifinals

The Smart-Gilas Pilipinas takes on Chinese Taipei in one of the four do-or-die quarterfinal matches in the 26th FIBA Asia Championship for Men in Wuhan, China.

The rivalry between the Gilas and Chinese Taipei is expected to intensify even further with the Nationals eying a slot in the semifinals of the qualifying tournament that offers one slot for the 2012 London Olympics.

Smart Gilas swept Chinese-Taipei in all four of their encounters, including two in this year’s Jones Cup basketball tournament where it won by an average margin of 11.0 points.

In the history of the tournament, the Philippines has beaten Chinese-Taipei twice for the championship in 1960 and 1963.

Foremost in head coach Rajko Toroman’s radar are star player Lin Chih-chieh and Wen-Ting Tseng, both of whom are playing in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Just like what Smart Gilas did to prolific Japanese shooter Takuya Kawamura when it held him to just 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting in an 83-76 win, Toroman believes he has the right tools to contain the streak-shooting Chinese-Taipei forward.

Guard Marcio Lassiter again looms as Toroman’s no. 1 option take on Lin on the defensive end.

A win by the Nationals means surpassing the 8th place finish of the Philippine team during the 2009 staging of the tournament. It will also mark the first time in a long while the country will be in the Final Four. A win will also put Smart Gilas and Toroman in a possible showdown against his former team Iran in the next round.

The other knockout matches feature two-time defending champion Iran against Jordan, South Korea versus Japan and host China opposite Lebanon.