JAKARTA – It will definitely be a different atmosphere out there without CJ Giles.
With the 6-foot-11 Giles limping on the floor, the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Team put up a gallant stand and survived Al Riyadi Beirut of Lebanon, 91-86, Friday to gain respect in the Fiba-Asia Champions Cup at the Britama Arena here.
Giles collided with Nate Johnson in mid-air and crashed, hurting his left knee and straining the entire leg that rendered the American import immobile for several minutes and prompted RP coach Rajko Toroman to alter his battle plans.
Good thing Mark Barocca, Dylan Ababou and Chris Tiu responded to the challenge while Aldrech Ramos and Jason Ballesteros combined their efforts on trying to push 6-foot-11 Chris Charles and Johnson out of the paint.
``Today, you saw that we're having a hard time without CJ,'' said Toroman. ``But I'm very proud of my players. They showed a lot of character out there.''
Giles was carried out of the court with the Philippines ahead, 56-46, five minutes and 38 seconds remaining in the third and had his swollen knee treated by team therapists.
Against Kuwait Saturday, Toroman said Giles would not suit up, hoping that the high-flying Smart Gilas import would be back in shape in time for the quarterfinals on Sunday.
``We don't know the extent of his injury but definitely he will not play against Kuwait,'' said Toroman after Giles was brought to the Sieta Mitra Hospital to diagnose the hurting leg. ``I hope it's nothing serious.''
``If he (Giles) couldn't play, the other big guys will definitely get a lot of minutes. The result? We'll see,'' said Toroman of his team also backed by Accel, Molten, Burlington, Cebu Pacific and Collezione by Rhett Eala.
Barocca exploded for 28 points, 17 of them in the first half when Smart Gilas opened up a 49-34 lead. After Giles went down, Lebanon snared the opportunity and erased the double-digit deficit with Johnson and Charles on the firing end.
``We played with heart and passion. We surprised Lebanon and it's a big win for us,'' said Toroman, who was also surprised with the unexpected performance of his local crew after Smart Gilas notched its second win in three games.
On Lebanon's part, the team missed its best homegrown player, Fadi El-Khatib, who sustained back spasms following a bad fall against Korea the other day.
Without El-Khatib, Johnson, a former San Miguel Beer import in the PBA, and Charles imposed themselves in the shaded area and even put Lebanon ahead, 63-62, on Johnson's long three, a minute left in the third.
With the game tied at 65, Ramos drained two crucial mid-range jumpers and added a putback off a Barocca miss for Smart Gilas to seize control, 73-67. It was then that Toroman decided to put Giles back on the battlefield with half of his leg covered with plaster.
The crowd erupted in glee as Giles gamely challenged Charles and fueled the entertainment when the wounded import caught a lob from Barocca and jammed the leather over two Lebanese defenders.
Giles drilled another jumper despite carrying his other leg for an 84-72 Smart Gilas lead that coerced Al Riyadi to push the panic button. Johnson's back-to-back threes hardly helped Lebanon's cause as there was not enough time to mount another uprising.
Barocca's floater with 37.6 seconds left and free throws by JVee Casio and Giles sealed Lebanon's second defeat in four games.
Scores:
SMART GILAS 91—Barocca 28, Giles 20, Ababou 17, Ramos 8, Tiu 8, Casio 6, Baracael 2, Cawaling 2, Jazul 0, Guevarra 0, Ballesteros 0, Slaughter 0.
AL RIYADI 86—Johnson 43, Charles 21, Fahed 8, Mahmoud 6, Ibrahim 5, Feghali 3, Balaa 0, Yehia 0, Turk 0, Fakhreddine 0, Hijazih 0.
Quarters: 26-15, 49-34, 65-all, 91-86
With the 6-foot-11 Giles limping on the floor, the Smart Gilas Pilipinas National Team put up a gallant stand and survived Al Riyadi Beirut of Lebanon, 91-86, Friday to gain respect in the Fiba-Asia Champions Cup at the Britama Arena here.
Giles collided with Nate Johnson in mid-air and crashed, hurting his left knee and straining the entire leg that rendered the American import immobile for several minutes and prompted RP coach Rajko Toroman to alter his battle plans.
Good thing Mark Barocca, Dylan Ababou and Chris Tiu responded to the challenge while Aldrech Ramos and Jason Ballesteros combined their efforts on trying to push 6-foot-11 Chris Charles and Johnson out of the paint.
``Today, you saw that we're having a hard time without CJ,'' said Toroman. ``But I'm very proud of my players. They showed a lot of character out there.''
Giles was carried out of the court with the Philippines ahead, 56-46, five minutes and 38 seconds remaining in the third and had his swollen knee treated by team therapists.
Against Kuwait Saturday, Toroman said Giles would not suit up, hoping that the high-flying Smart Gilas import would be back in shape in time for the quarterfinals on Sunday.
``We don't know the extent of his injury but definitely he will not play against Kuwait,'' said Toroman after Giles was brought to the Sieta Mitra Hospital to diagnose the hurting leg. ``I hope it's nothing serious.''
``If he (Giles) couldn't play, the other big guys will definitely get a lot of minutes. The result? We'll see,'' said Toroman of his team also backed by Accel, Molten, Burlington, Cebu Pacific and Collezione by Rhett Eala.
Barocca exploded for 28 points, 17 of them in the first half when Smart Gilas opened up a 49-34 lead. After Giles went down, Lebanon snared the opportunity and erased the double-digit deficit with Johnson and Charles on the firing end.
``We played with heart and passion. We surprised Lebanon and it's a big win for us,'' said Toroman, who was also surprised with the unexpected performance of his local crew after Smart Gilas notched its second win in three games.
On Lebanon's part, the team missed its best homegrown player, Fadi El-Khatib, who sustained back spasms following a bad fall against Korea the other day.
Without El-Khatib, Johnson, a former San Miguel Beer import in the PBA, and Charles imposed themselves in the shaded area and even put Lebanon ahead, 63-62, on Johnson's long three, a minute left in the third.
With the game tied at 65, Ramos drained two crucial mid-range jumpers and added a putback off a Barocca miss for Smart Gilas to seize control, 73-67. It was then that Toroman decided to put Giles back on the battlefield with half of his leg covered with plaster.
The crowd erupted in glee as Giles gamely challenged Charles and fueled the entertainment when the wounded import caught a lob from Barocca and jammed the leather over two Lebanese defenders.
Giles drilled another jumper despite carrying his other leg for an 84-72 Smart Gilas lead that coerced Al Riyadi to push the panic button. Johnson's back-to-back threes hardly helped Lebanon's cause as there was not enough time to mount another uprising.
Barocca's floater with 37.6 seconds left and free throws by JVee Casio and Giles sealed Lebanon's second defeat in four games.
Scores:
SMART GILAS 91—Barocca 28, Giles 20, Ababou 17, Ramos 8, Tiu 8, Casio 6, Baracael 2, Cawaling 2, Jazul 0, Guevarra 0, Ballesteros 0, Slaughter 0.
AL RIYADI 86—Johnson 43, Charles 21, Fahed 8, Mahmoud 6, Ibrahim 5, Feghali 3, Balaa 0, Yehia 0, Turk 0, Fakhreddine 0, Hijazih 0.
Quarters: 26-15, 49-34, 65-all, 91-86
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