ALLAN THE MAN

Smart Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes is happy about the progress of the squad as it completed the first half of its training tour in New Zealand just 18 days from the opening of the FIBA Asia Championship.

After three games in Napier, the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team has a 2-1 record. It won back-to-back matches against club team Hawkes Bay Hawks before dropping a close result to an all-star selection from the National Basketball League on Sunday.

The NBL squad, bannered by imports as well as national team prospects, pulled out an 86-85 victory over the visitors.

“We played well and lost to a tough team. Kareem Jones, Antoine Tisby, and BJ Anthony was a formidable frontline with Darko (Cohaderevic) and Marcel Jones coming off the bench,” Reyes told InterAKTV in a text message.

But what remains a big concern for Reyes has been the play of naturalized center Marcus Douthit, who has struggled in each of the three matches on the Kiwi tour.

“We’re progressing well, except for Marcus Douthit, who seems to be digressing,” said Reyes.

The coach noted that Douthit is not suffering from any injury that would hinder his performance.

“There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s just struggling against these bigs, which worries me going into FIBA Asia Championship,” said Reyes.

Douthit is expected to be the Philippine team’s top weapon in the Asian championships, which serves as qualifier to the FIBA World Cup in Spain next year.

In the last FIBA Asia Championship in 2011, Douthit emerged as the top scorer and rebounder of the tournament, averaging 21.9 points and 12.2 rebounds in nine games. He will be expected to reprise his role this year against the top big men in the region, which includes former NBA players Hamed Haddadi of Iran and Yi Jianlian of China.

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