Smart Gilas II banked on a big third-quarter run to repulse Jordan, 88-78, and notch its first win in the 34th William Jones Cup in Taipei, Taiwan.
Gilas started out strong, leading 25-16 at the end of the first period. But Douthit picked up his second foul and had to sit down, allowing Jordan to come back and seize a 39-36 lead at the half.
Down 40-48 early in the third period, the Nationals, behind the exploits of Sol Mercado and Marcus Douthit, uncorked a 26-6 blast capped by a buzzer-beating triple by Ranidel De Ocampo to enter the fourth period ahead 66-54.
The Jordanians slowly chipped away at the lead and came within two at 76-74 with 2:54 left on a drive by naturalized guard Rasheim Wright, but Douthit split his free throws and Gabe Norwood completed a three-point play to push Gilas ahead 80-74 with 1:37 left.After a basket by Jordan, Larry Fonacier buried a triple to make it 83-76 with only 57 seconds left to virtually seal the win.
Douthit led Gilas with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, while national team newcomer Gary David added 13.
Smart Gilas (88) – Douthit 17, David 13, Chan 11, Fonacier 10, De Ocampo 8, Norwood 7, Villanueva 7, Mercado 6, Tenorio 4, Thoss 4, Ganuelas 0, Baracael 0.
Jordan (78) – Wright 24, Hussein 17, Abdeen 14, Ruqayah 10, Aldwairi 4, Alhamarsheh 3, Zaghab 2, Alnajjar 0, Al Hait 0.
