Gilas Pilipinas starts FIBA Asia semis vs. Lebanon

GILAS PILIPINAS is facing Lebanon in the quarterfinals of the FIBA Asia Championships which resumes Thursday in Changsha, China.The PH squad on Tuesday ended the second round with a sweep and toppedGroup E. With the three wins against Hongkong, Iran and India, Gilas took asafer route to the finals.In the game against India, Terrence Romeo the hero.FIBA.com saidand When Terrence Romeo is on-target, he is a tough man to stop. He scored 20 points in 20 minutes here, hitting 3 triples on top of 4 assists, 3 steals, and 3 rebounds. His production will be crucial moving forward for the Philippines, and it will be interesting to see if he can sustain this high level of play in the Quarter-Finals and beyond. He gave Mac Ganuelas an alley hoop pass to end the game with a bang.Tomorrow, with Romeo still the man to beat,Gilas Pilipinas will takeLebanon at the start of the quarterfinals. A victory means another game game against eitherJapan or Qatar in the semifinals.While the safe route, evading Iran and China, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin stressed that the Filipino squadshould not take anyone lightly.Gilas coaching staff, composed of three PBA coaches, have already scout Lebanon, Japan and Qatar and found out these teams are equally hungry for the loneticket to Rio de Janiero.Veselin Metic, Lebanon coach, belittles the capability of Gilas Pilipinas but stressed his team is the underdog in the Lebanon-Gilas match up Thursday night. This (game against the Filipinos) is a good match-up. No Iran, now Philippines,” Metic told Filipino reporters Tuesday. We can play Philippines, easy, easy.”Metic said he was not bothered by the presence of Gilas naturalized centerAndray Blatche. Metic had a mouthful of negative comments on Blatche who he described as a little out of shape. I’m very surprised he’s not in the NBA, Metic was quoted as saying by Filipino journalist covering FIBA Asia.China and Iran are expected to slug it out in the semis because they have light opponents. China faces India tomorrow while Iran takes Korea.Host China is the lone unbeaten team in the FIBA Asia championship.