PHL 5 rips Taipei, earns Asiad q'finals berth

GUANGZHOU -- The Pilipinas-Smart Gilas national developmental team made it to the quarterfinal round of the 16th Asian Games basketball competition. The Filipinos advanced into the next round following a hard-earned 82-73 triumph against Chinese Taipei. The PHL 5 will face South Korea in the quarterfinals starting Wednesday. Asi Taulava, the oldest player in the Smart-Gilas line-up, teamed up with Marcio Lassiter to give the Taiwanese a double-barrelled headache. Taulava and Lassiter finished with 18 points each to lead the Filipinos to their third victory against two defeats. The 6-foot-9, 37-year-old Fil-Tongan also grabbed 12 rebounds in what was easily his most productive game since he joined the team several weeks ago. Lassiter, a last-minute inclusion, drilled in three triples, the same as team co-captain Chris Tiu. Tiu tallied 15 points and Mac Baracael contributed 11 for the Filipinos, who won despite being beaten by the Taiwanese on second chance points (18-6) and points inside the paint (48-38). - KY, Rey Joble, GMANews.TV