Smart Gilas takes crack at Jones Cup

By Joey Villar (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines – Smart Gilas Pilipinas hopes to come up with a healthy lineup when it resumes its overseas campaign in the William Jones Cup International Invitational tournament slated July 13-21 at the Taipei County’s Sinjhuang Stadium in Chinese Taipei.

The Filipinos have been officially entered in the seven-team field that includes two national teams from the host country, the national squads of Japan and Lebanon, the second team of Iran and a club team from Western Australia.

This marks the first time that Smart Gilas will play in the annual event, Chinese Taipei’s strongest international basketball event that started in 1977 in honor of former FIBA secretary-general R. William Jones.

“This is part of the Smart Gilas calendar and we are really preparing hard for this tournament,” said Smart Gilas team manager Frankie Lim.

Smart Gilas is coming off a seventh place finish in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, its campaign hampered by injuries to key players.

Organizers expect Smart Gilas to be the event’s top draw since there are around 70,000 OFWs in Taiwan.

“We expect the Philippine team (Smart Gilas) to be the top box office draw as usual because there are many overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan and Filipinos are known for their passion for basketball,” said Lee Yi-Chung, deputy secretary-general of the organizing Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA), or Taiwan’s top cage governing body.

“Moreover, this Philippine team was selected to compete for a berth in the Asian zone for the 2012 London Olympics. I think the team will be highly competitive,” he added.

An all-pro team used to represent the Philippines in the Jones Cup.

The Nationals hone up for the Jones Cup by competing in an invitational tournament here late this month to be participated in by the national team of Jordan, the Dong Guan of the Chinese Basketball Association and two teams from the PBA.

Naturalization candidate Marcus Douthit will beef up the injury-plagued Smart Gilas in the invitational tournament to be organized by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

Douthit was actually scheduled to arrive yesterday but Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman said the 6-10, 30-year-old former LA Lakers will fly here on June 15 instead in time for the pocket tournament.

From Taiwan, Smart Gilas will head to Lebanon to represent Southeast Asia in the Stankovic Cup in August.