Smart Gilas reigns over Aussie teams

By Jenny S. de Venecia

Photo from bleachers.blogspot.com

The Smart Gilas national team returned home last Thursday after winning five out of six games and pushing in for a rematch with the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) in their Australian Tour.

After bagging the third spot in the 21^st Dubai International Tournament, the team headed to Australia with their Serbian coach Rajko Toroman and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Noli Eala as they start of their array of training for this year’s Guangzhou Asian Games as well as the 2011 FIBA Asia Championships.

The RP team opened the series of exhibition games with an impressive 78-67 victory against Australia’s national team Under-19 in Canberra, Australia.

“Just finished an exhibition game against the U-19 national team of Australia, we won by 12 points. They’re very tall, fast, physical and athletic,” Smart Gilas star player Christ Tiu shared on his twitter account.

Gilas continued their victory, beating AIS men’s basketball team 79-73 and later ended the rematch in a 73-73 tie as both coaches agreed not to go into an extra five minutes.

Their tour ended with a winning streak over Canberra Gunners, one of the top teams in the South East Australian Basketball League, 101-84, the New South Wales Institute of Sports, 82-63, and the Sydney Comets Senior men’s team, 93-81.

Japeth Aguilar dominated the sixth and final game and showed his true potential with a double-double against the toughest team they faced during the Australian exhibition games.

Despite the absence of several players, the squad performed well and pulled off amazing wins against the Australian teams.

Missing the games were Rabeh Al-Hussaini who underwent a surgery to remove bone spurs from his foot, forward Aldrech Ramos because of respiratory problems and shooting guard Rey Guevarra who suffers an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury.

The nationals flew to Serbia last Sunday to play a minimum of six games in ten days continuing their preparation for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championships, which is the qualifying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics.

On April 23, Smart Gilas will leave for United States for a nine-day stint in Las Vegas, after which the squad will spend a five-day trip to Vancouver, Canada.