By Jonas Panerio
Cebu Daily News

Game today:

Cebu Coliseum

5 p.m. – Smart Gilas vs. M. Lhuillier-Cebu Niños

PBA top pick Japeth Aguilar and the rest of the Smart Gilas RP squad put on an aerial show as they stunned the reigning Liga Pilipinas National champions M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños, 83-71, in their exhibition game yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

Chris Tiu, the Gilas team captain and former Ateneo star, led six players in double figures with 16 points while Marcio Lassiter and JV Casio each had 14 markers. Mac Baracael had 11 while Aguilar and Dylan Ababou ended up with 10 points apiece.

The Gilas showed that they have become a better squad since being bested by the Niños, 66-72, exactly a year ago in their game held at the University of San Carlos (USC) gym. They stood up to the pressure after seeing their double-digit lead get whittled down to just four in the fourth period.

The Gilas were ahead, 67-63, after a free-throw by Ninos' new recruit Jason Dixon, when Aguilar went on a tear, first skying high for a thunderous alley-oop slam dunk off a feed by Casio. The next possession saw more of the same, only this time, Aguilar stuffed the ball off another alley-oop pass from Lassiter.

A jumper by Aguilar and a lay-up by Casio completed the 8-0 run that pushed their lead back up to 12, 75-63. The Gilas were not threatened from thereonend as they handed the Niños their first loss in 25 games. The Niños' last loss came in April of 2009, when they were bested by the Misamis Oriental Meteors in Game 5 of the Liga Pilipinas 2nd conference finals.

Early on, the Niños appeared primed to give the Gilas yet another loss as they raced to a 10-point lead, 23-13, in the first period behind the 11 points of Dixon. The lead remained at nine, 41-32, at halftime.

The winds, though, blew a different tune for the Niños in the third canto as the Gilas tied the game at 43-all after an 11-0 surge. They went on a 13-0 run later in the period to take a 61-49 lead. Starring in that run were Casio, Baracael, Ababou and Tiu as the Gilas sank four three-point shots in the third period alone.

Dixon paced the Ninos with 19 markers. They will get a crack at vengeance today when they take on the Gilas once again at the same venue.

Source

I guess this is a good sign that the Smart Gilas team is improving. I would hope though that next time they play against the M. Lhuillier-Cebu Niños, they would jump on them and get the lead right from the start. They should give it 48 minutes of effort in order to have a chance to win in the big leagues.

THE Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) added two Filipino-Australians to its developmental pool as it continues to work on its goal to form the strongest team possible for the 2011 International Basketball Federation (Fiba)-Asia tournament. SBP executive director Noli Eala said on Thursday Sep Salinas and Matt Scheptig will arrive on Sunday to try out for the Smart Gilas Pilipinas national team.

“This is SBP’s continuing effort to form the most competitive team for future international tournaments,” Eala said in a statement.

Salinas and Shceptig will join Japeth Aguilar and American CJ Giles and the country’s top amateur standouts in an exhibition game against the Singapore Slingers on September 23 in Singapore. There were no other details that were immediately made available, except that they are based in Melbourne.

Aguilar had his first practice with Smart Gilas on Thursday at the PhilSports Arena, almost 20 days since announcing his decision to play for the national team instead of honoring his commitment with Burger King, the team that drafted him No. 1 in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in August.

In his Twitter account, Smart Gilas aspirant Chris Tiu said: “Had a fun and productive training session today with Smart Gilas team! So fun to have Japeth and CJ Giles together as your big men!”

Eala refused to comment on whether the 22-year-old Aguilar has finally decided to play for the Smart Gilas team and sign a contract with them.

But according to Burger King head coach Yeng Guiao, team manager Lito Alvarez just allowed Aguilar to do scrimmages with the SBP’s national team while they are still trying to find a solution to the issue.

Aguilar, who played for Guiao in the Fiba-Asia tournament in Tianjin, China, turned down Burger King’s three-year, P8.7-million offer.

The PBA is still discussing possible sanctions on Aguilar.

Written by Joel Orellana / Reporter

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I wonder what positions Sep Salinas and Matt Scheptig play. It's great to know that Noli Eala and the rest of the SBP are putting forth effort in trying to form the best possible line-up for Smart Gilas in the upcoming 2011 International Basketball Federation (Fiba)-Asia tournament. I'm really excited about how things would turn out for the team. The future certainly looks promising for Team Pilipinas.