Smart Gilas beats USA, 76-75, to win the Jones Cup

Smart Gilas Pilipinas climbed back from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to nip the United States, 76-75, and capture the 34th William Jones Cup in Taipei, Taiwan.

LA Tenorio, the littlest guy on the floor, buried a 19-foot jumper with 19.1 seconds left that proved to be the go-ahead basket as the Americans failed to convert on their last possession and were forced to foul with nine seconds left. Gilas was able to dribble away much of the clock before the USA fouled Jeff Chan with 1.9 seconds to go.

The sweet-shooting Chan missed the first free throw and then intentionally missed the second, but Marcus Douthit tapped the ball out to give the Americans one last chance with nine-tenths of a second left. With no timeouts remaining, the US was forced to throw a length-of-the-court pass with their final shot clanging off the rim to give the Filipinos the crown.

Smart Gilas finished the round-robin tournament with a 7-1 record to capture the title, the first for a Philippine team since 1998 and fourth overall in the tournament’s 34-year history.
Tenorio came up big in the fourth period, helping fuel a 10-0 run that enabled the Filipinos to grab their first lead of the second half at 61-59. Then with 50 seconds left, the Alaska Aces court general spun in the lane and sank a tough floater that pushed Gilas ahead, 74-73. A breakdown in defense allowed Jermaine Dearman to score unmolested under the basket with 34 seconds to go, but after a Gilas timeout, Tenorio used a Douthit screen to bury the winning shot.