Philippines and Jordan renew rivalry in FIBA Asia Championship
The Philippines and Jordan meet anew in the FIBA Asia Championship semifinal in Wuhan on Saturday.
The two countries played each other in the second round with the Filipinos posting a 72-64 win.
It has been an impressive campaign for the Philippines so far. The Southeast Asian powerhouse has won five games in a row since losing to China in the first round. They beat Chinese Taipei 95-78 to reach the semifinal of the biennial tournament for the first time since 1987.
Naturalized center Marcus Douthit is the focal point of the Philippine offense and when the big man plays well, his team usually wins. The Providence University alumnus powered his way to 37 points against the Taiwanese and will definitely be a headache to Jordan's big men.
Of course, Douthit will need help from his teammates for the Philippines to return to the final since 1985, which was also the last time it won the title. Among those who are expected to step up are reliable guards Jimmy Alapag and JV Casio and Philippine Basketball Association veterans Ranidel De Ocampo and Kelly Williams. Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz are excellent defenders and can both score if needed.
"This (the win) shows this team has the ability to make history. Philippines team is in the semifinals after such a long time. I think we have the ability to go all the way," said head coach Rajko Toroman, who steered Iran to its maiden FIBA Asia title in 2007.
Jordan, meanwhile, has its own Olympic dreams too. Given up for dead after struggling in the second round, the West Asians made the biggest noise in the quarterfinal when they upset two-time defending champion Iran 88-84.
Timely baskets from veterans Osama Daghles and Zaid Alkhas propelled the Jordanians to a surprise victory. Daghles topscored with 23 points while Alkhas added 14 on a 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
"We knew we had a win or go home situation. We won today. There’s 24 hours for us to recover and rework our plans," said Alkhas.
Aside from Daghles and Alkhas, head coach Tab Baldwin also has naturalized player Rasheim Wright and big man Zaid Abbas to count upon.
Jordan made it to the semifinal for the second-straight time. They won the bronze medal two years ago in Tianjin to qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.
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