Tuesday 29 March 2011

Gilas squeaks past Powerade

Posted by chardyboy on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 0 comments

source: by Jeric Lopez / manilastandardtoday.com

Jayvee Casio squeezed in a tough lay-up in traffic with 9.3 ticks left to steer Smart Gilas to an exciting 98-97 win against Powerade in the 2011 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Down by one, 97-96, with the game on the line, the nationals went to their money guy as Casio split a double team and penetrated at the heart of the Tigers defense for the go-ahead lay-in to give his team the lead in the waning seconds.

Powerade had two chances in its final possession to wrest back the lead but it was just not meant to be. Martin Zeno missed a15-foot fade-away with four seconds left and Francis Allera’s putback at the buzzer also didn’t find its mark.

It was a perfect endgame for Casio, who was spectacular all night long as he finished with a conference-high 29 points, six assists and four rebounds to fill in the void left by Marcus Douthit. The 6-foot-11 rebounding monster is resting his sprained left ankle.

“We didn’t expect to win because we played without Marcus Douthit but this team has a lot of talent and these guys know how to play. It was a big win for us. Everybody now understands that we are not just about Douthit, these kids can all play,’’ said Toroman.

After taking its first loss in the conference in its last outing, Smart Gilas has climbed back to solo lead at 6-1 while the setback placed Powerade on the brink of elimination as the Tigers fell to 2-6 at ninth place, having dropped five of their last six.

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