Smart Gilas and Al Rayyan win: 2011 FIBA Asia Champions Cup Quarterfinals Roundup (Part-2)
Smart Gilas Pilipinas 85 – Syria’s Al Jalaa 80
The home team Smart Gilas of Philippines recovered tremendously from 7 points deficit after halftime and overshadowed the Syrian Champions Al Jalaa in a thrilling 85-80 quarterfinal victory at the Phil Sports Arena on Friday night.
Marcus Douthit and Joseph Evans Casio were the star performers for the Smart Gilas and powered the team down the stretch for an electrifying victory. The instrumental Douthit raked up a game-high 26 points and clutched 12 boards
while Casio ended the game with 22 points and 9 assists.
On the other hand, Samaki Walker and Michael Madanly carried the action impressively for Al Jalaa and scored 25 and 17 points respectively. The Syrian team displayed a brilliant performance in the first half of the game however
they filed to sustain their momentum in the last two quarters and unleashed a comprehensive advantage.
Madanly opened the scoring of the game to provide Al Jalaa an early advantage. The team of Syria never trailed in the first quarter and nabbed 22-20 advantage. Al Jalaa headed out aggressively in the second quarter as well and
romped with 13-0 run to procure a massive 15 points lead however the hosts Smart Gilas managed to cut down the deficit to 7 points as the game progressed into the second half.
The Filipinos made a tremendous comeback after halftime and displayed what the home crowd was waiting to see. Gilas snatched the lead half way in the third quarter and never looked back. Even though Al Jalaa strived to reclaim
the advantage in the final 10 minutes but the Gilas’ vigorous assault in the crunch time provided them a breathtaking win.
Qatar’s Al Rayyan 83 – Jordan’s ASU 77
The last year’s runner up Al Rayyan of Qatar clinched the final semi-final berth on Friday after thrashing the Applied Science University of Jordan for an exhilarating 83-77 win in the quarterfinals of the2011 FIBA Asia Champions
Cup.
The game had its dithering moments for both the teams early on however Al Rayyan ensured their domination in the second half and sealed their fourth win of the tournament.
Chauncey Leslie truly had an impressive game with the ball as he landed a game-high 29 points and dished out 6 assists to put his team on the frontline. Michael Cufee regained his from at the right time of the contest and supported
his superstar with 15 points and 7 rebounds.
For Applied Science University, Jameel Watkins erupted with 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to make the life difficult for the team of Qatar.
Jordan’s team absolutely dominated the starting 10 minutes of the game and procured 19-16 advantage with the end of the first quarter. Al Rayyan retorted tremendously in the second period and not only snatched the lead from the
opposition, but also wrapped up 6 points advantage with 4:24 remaining in the halftime. ASU took the charge once again and tied game 39-39 before entering the second half.
The Jordanians carried the action in the third quarter and reclaimed the advantage however their lead proved to be short-lived. Leslie and Cuffee took the possession of the ball and spearheaded Al Rayyan in the last 12 minutes
to race away into the semi-finals.
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