In the first game, Jamal Sampson proved his worth by grabbing 19 rebounds and had 3 blocks despite scoring only 2 points. It was Dylan Ababou who topscored with 11 points, new recruit Marcio Lassiter with 8 while Barocca and Baracael had 7 points each. It was a very low scoring ballgame as the scores (46-38) appear to be like that of a half time.

In the second game last January 9, Qatar made some offensive adjustments to escape a close victory over the visiting Filipinos 77-69. This time Jamal Sampson scored 12 points, had 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. It was Andy Mark Barocca who topscored however with 20.

I’m not so familiar with Qatar but from what I’ve read, at least 9 of them played during the 2009 FIBA-Asia Championship in Tianjin, China last August. Qatar placed 6^th in that tournament while Powerade – Pilipinas at 8^th place. With Smart Gilas giving Qatar a hard time, I feel satisfied with the performance of this developmental team so far.

Smart Gilas plays the Kuwaiti National squad later today January 10 and tomorrow January 11.