Smart Gilas 4th in FIBA Asia 2011
By: Compania, Al-Rashid
After long games and struggles, Smart Gilas Pilipinas ranked fourth in the 2011 FIBA Asia semi-finals held at Wuhan, China.
When the Jordan Al Nashama crushed Smart Gilas (75-61), the Philippine team brawled fiercely with South Korea’s basketball team, while Jordan battled China for the number one slot and took their ticket for the 2012 Olympic Games. The said game between South Korea and Philippines determined the team to grab the bronze- and the Korean team emerges over Smart Gilas Pilipinas with the score of 70-68.
This year’s FIBA games is said to be Philippines best performance after 1987 FIBA. Smart Gilas’ advance to the semi-finals was made possible when they defeated Chinese Taipei (95-78), where Marcus Douthit scored 37 points for the team.
After a series of breath taking games, in the end, China triumph over Jordan. Korea took the 3rd slot, Smart Gilas Pilipinas as fourth and Iran in the fifth slot.
Although their dream of playing in the 2012 Olympic Games faded, their passion for the game had just grown even bigger. And now after reaching semi-finals, the Philippine team had pushed its rank in the FIBA world ranking and gained respect throughout Asia and the world in the basketball arena.
