What to expect in the FIBA Asia Cup

After bagging the 2012 William Jones Cup title, the Philippine National Men's Basketball Team, known as Smart Gilas 2.0, now sets its eyes on a more prestigious tournament - the 4th FIBA-Asia Cup. The Nationals left yesterday for Tokyo, Japan, where the FIBA Asia Cup, formerly called the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, will be held from September 14 to 22.

At stake in this competition is the outright entry into the 2013 FIBA-Asia Championship, which serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup (formerly known as FIBA World Championship), the flagship event of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), in Spain. The winner of this year's FIBA Asia Cup automatically qualifies for the Asian Championship next year. The second to fourth places do not gain outright entry, but will add another slot to its region, thus improving its chances to qualify for next year's FIBA Asia Championship. Each region, referred to as a FIBA Asia sub-zone, has two entries to the Asian Championship.

In 2010, Smart Gilas 1.0, under Serbian coach Rajko Toroman, bagged fourth-place honors in the Stankovic Cup held in Beirut, Lebanon. This earned for Southeast Asia three berths in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China, instead of just two. The slots were taken by the top three teams in the SEABA Championship, namely the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. If Gilas 1.0 had not attained fourth spot in Beirut, Malaysia would not have qualified in Wuhan.

Gilas 2.0 is certainly in high spirits going to the tournament after its successful conquest of the Jones Cup last month. The newly formed National Team, composed of mostly PBA standouts, upset the highly favored United States team in the final game, 76-75. Under new coach Chot Reyes, Gilas also defeated three-time Jones Cup champion Iran, Jordan, Japan, Chinese-Taipei and a professional team from Korea, but bowed to Lebanon.

In Tokyo, the Philippines is grouped with China, Lebanon, Macau and Uzbekistan. The other group is made up of Iran, Chinese Taipei, India, Qatar and Japan. Jordan and Korea opted to skip the tournament.

But the Filipinos are expected to encounter tougher competition in Tokyo than in the Jones Cup. Most Asian countries will probably send their best rosters there.

Host Japan reportedly is set to field in naturalized import JR Sakuragi (Milton Henderson), who suited up in the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship in Tokushima. The 6'8" forward was part of the 1995 NCAA Champion UCLA squad. Also expected to bolster Japan's roster are ex-NBA campaigner Yuta Tabuse and prolific scorer Takuya Kawamura.

Lebanese superstar Fadi El Khatib is also reported to be joining the defending Stankovic Cup champion Lebanon in this year's edition. Probably the best Lebanese basketball player of all time, El Khatib is raring to lead his team to a successful title defense of the FIBA Asia Cup. He skipped the Asian Championship in Wuhan last year and the Jones Cup this year. Another El Khatib showed up in the Jones Cup.

But China, which is competing in this tournament for the very first time, is sending its Team B to Tokyo. From the line-up that won the FIBA Asia Championship last year and competed in the recent London Olympics, only Yu Shulong is seeing action in the Asia Cup.

Meanwhile, Iran will have Slovenian coach Memi Becirovic as its new chief tactician.

Gilas 2.0 will be parading in Tokyo almost the same roster as in the Jones Cup, with the addition of Talk 'N Text guard Jared Dillinger. Ginebra San Miguel's LA Tenorio, who won the MVP plum in the Jones Cup, heads the crew comprised of holdovers Gary David of GlobalPort, Larry Fonacier and Ranidel De Ocampo of Talk 'N Text, Gabe Norwood and Jeff Chan of Rain or Shine, Enrico Villanueva of Barako Bull, Jay-R Reyes of Meralco, Sonny Thoss of Alaska, Filipino-American Matthew Rosser and naturalized center Marcus Douthit. Dropped from the 12-man line-up are Meralco's Sol Mercado, who has eligibility problems concerning his citizenship, San Beda's Garvo Lanete and Alaska's Mac Baracael.

The Filipinos will be riding on their remarkable performance in the Jones Cup. The dribble drive motion offense adopted by Reyes seemed to be working like a charm for Gilas. But new challenges await the Nationals in Tokyo.

I expect Lebanon, Iran and Japan to be the biggest threat to Gilas in the FIBA Asia Cup. Regardless of the outcome of their stint here however, the Nationals can easily qualify for the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship being the top team in the South East Asia sub zone.

Of the ten nations participating in the FIBA Asia Cup, the Philippines is seeded at No. 7 based on the current FIBA Rankings. China, the highest-ranking Asian country, is No. 10 in the world, followed by Iran (No. 20), Lebanon (No. 25), Korea (No. 33), Japan (No. 35) and Qatar (No. 36). But the Philippines, which has a world ranking of 45, has always been regarded as a dark horse especially after its strong fourth place finish in Wuhan last year and, of course, the victory in the recent Jones Cup.

Qatar is the only team that has competed in all the previous editions of the FIBA Asia Cup, which was inaugurated in 2004 in Taipei.

This tournament was originally named after renowned basketball player and coach Borislav Stankovic of Serbia, who served as FIBA Secretary General from 1976 to 2002. Because of his many contributions to the sport, Stankovic was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. The former Yugoslavian national player is believed to be the first to encourage foreign players to tryout for the NBA.

I was part of the team that went to Beirut for this tournament in 2010. Back then, Gilas 1.0 was badly undermanned due to injuries to key players, including Douthit. Back-up center Greg Slaughter could not make it either due to commitments with Ateneo. This prompted Toroman to invite Meralco's Asi Taulava to travel with Gilas to Lebanon. But prior to this, Taulava had already signified his desire to be part of the National Team and had even joined its training during the PBA's off season. Taulava was instrumental in Gilas' good showing in that tournament as he provided the muscle and leadership that the young National Team needed at the time.

Most memorable was the semis duel against eventual champion and home team Lebanon. The jam-packed arena witnessed a heart-pounding game that went the distance. Despite the hostile crowd and an overwhelming size disadvantage, Gilas engaged the El Khatib and Jackson Vroman-led Lebanese squad in a neck-and-neck contest until the last second. Down by two, the Philippines had last possession with less than ten ticks remaining. Jvee Casio took a desperation heave to beat the clock but misfired. The huge Lebanese audience finally heaved a sigh of relief as their team had never been threatened throughout the tournament until it faced the young and small Pinoys.

In the championship match, Lebanon clobbered Japan by 50 points.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.