QATAR BEATS CHINESE-TAIPEI TO HAND GILAS PILIPINAS THE NO.1 SPOT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 07 Aug 2013
Despite losing to the Philippines 80-70 on Tuesday, Qatar did Gilas Pilipinas a monumental favor by beating hitherto undefeated Chinese-Taipei 71-68 to hand the host nation the No. 1 spot which means they will play Kazakhstan in the knockout quarter finals provided the Filipinos overcome Hong Kong in their 8:30 p.m. encounter at the Mall of Asia Arena.
A win by Chinese-Taipei would have consigned the Philippines to a massive showdown against China but the Qatar win removed that match-up.
It was a tense game down the stretch with Filipino fans cheering for Qatar who took the first half 29-28 before opening up a 68-56 lead on a basket by naturalized player Jarvis Hayes with 3:33 left in the game.
Chinese-Taipei?s naturalized player Quincy Davis scored on a basket, made two free throws and converted on one ?of- two freebies to tie the count at 68-68 before Daoud Musa scored to give Qatar a 70-68 lead before Chinese-Taipei missed and Hayes was fouled and converted one of his two charities to open u p a three point lead 71-68 with 12.1 seconds left to play.
Chinese-Taipei felt the pressure of needing a three while Qatar hung tough to win and give Gilas Pilipinas a lifeline in their quest for a World Cup berth in Spain next year with the top three teams in the FIBA Asia championships booking berths.
Qatar coach Tom Wisman who has long coached in Asia and has a high regard for Philippine basketball said in jest after the game ?I could run for President of the Philippines right now.?
In an earlier game Japan was unceremoniously ousted from the FIBA Asia knockout quarter finals by Jordan 65-56 to ensure the Jordanians will make its fifth straight quarter finals appearance in the tournament.
Jordan had to weather a last ditch rally by the Japanese after leading by as many as 18 points as Japan pulled to within 6 points in the dying minute of the game but held their nerve to eke out the win and will next face mighty Iran in the quarter finals.
Naturalized players Jimmy Baxter led Jordan with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals while Mohammad Hussein finished with 15 for the Jordanians cause.
Only Naoto Tsuji scored in double digits for Japan behind 4 of 10 triples for a 14 point tally which was not good enough for the one-time Asian basketball contender to prevent being ousted from the quarters.
Jordan who lost to Iran in the 2011 finals will face the dominant Iranians in the quarter finals with Iran heavily favored to win.
If not for the emotional victory by Qatar the Philippines would have moved deeper into troubled waters if it had to play China in the knockout quarter finals but with a reprieve Gilas Pilipinas will engage Kazakhstan in a showdown that could never be taken lightly.
Coach Chot Reyes acknowledged the reality of a massive game against China when he told a post-game press conference after the Philippines eased past Qatar 80-70 Tuesday night before another huge crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena that ?pending a miracle I think we just arranged a date against China in the quarter finals. We were fully aware of this but there was no way we were not coming out with our best tonight, not with all those people in the stands, with all the expectations. If it so happens that we play China in the quarter finals then so be it.?
He said Gilas Pilipinas ?has got to find a way to come out and play a game like this to give us a chance. Other than that the players were very focused and the defense was fantastic (against Qatar.)?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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