JV Casio of Smart-Gilas Pilipinas (right) tries to outrace an Al Jazeera Egypt defender during their quarterfinals match Thursday at the Dubai International Basketball Tournament in the United Arab Emirates. (Photo by DENNIS MALLARI)

DUBAI — Smart-Gilas stunned the taller Al Jazeera of Egypt, 82-78, to barge into the semifinals of the 21st Dubai International Basketball Tournament Wednesday at the Al Ahli Club here.

Skipper Chris Tiu converted five free throws in the dying seconds as the RP dribblers arranged a semis meeting with Al-Riyadi of Lebanon on Saturday.

Tiu's end-game heroics sustained a game-long brilliance by Marnel Baracael, who pumped in 24 points, including the go-ahead basket under two minutes to play.

Baracael’s floater shattered the final deadlock and gave Gilas a 77-75 edge. The Nationals then frustrated the Egyptians in their next two plays before Tiu started hitting his freebies.

Tiu nailed the last two free throws with just a fraction of a second left after an Egyptian committed a flagrant foul that assured victory for the Filipinos.

“We played with a big heart. But still, we’re not satisfied. We want to go to the Finals,'' said RP coach Rajko Toroman.

Toroman shifted to the zone after Gilas fell behind by 15 in the closing minutes of the second period and this worked out as the Filipinos methodically wiped out the deficit and finally took the lead, 53-48, behind their torrid outside shooting.

Jason Ballesteros again filled the need for an able slotman after Jamal Sampson spent the entire second half on the bench while Marico Lassiter impressed Toroman with his hustle and energy.

Mark Barroca and JV Casio were also instrumental during their fightback from 39-24 with Casio nailing two treys in a 12-0 third quarter run.

“These things show the character of this team,” said Toroman.

The scores:
SMART-GILAS 82 — Baracael 24, Barroca 13, Lassiter 10, Tiu 9, Ballesteros 7, Sampson 4, Casio 9, Aguilar 3, Ababou 3, Cawaling 0.
AL JAZEERA 78 — Merill 25, Gendy 13, Na’em 12, Mishaal 10, S. Guneidi 9, R. Guneidi 3, Saled 3, Badr 3, Mahmod 0, Ibrahim 0.