Team captain Chris Tiu sparkled in a torrid third quarter assault as the short-handed Smart Gilas-Pilipinas scored a runaway 81-67 triumph against Syria in the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup in Beirut on Sunday night.

After a slow start, the Nationals turned hot in the third period behind Tiu’s impeccable shooting as the Philippines notched its first win in two starts in the Group action of the tournament.

Michael Madanly and Mohammed Dyar combined for 33 points in the first half as the Syrians took a 40-35 advantage at the break.

But the lead was immediately wiped out after a recharged Filipino side unleashed a searing 18-5 blast to start off the third period.

Tiu, the former Ateneo stalwart, accounted for nine points in that run as the Nationals surged ahead, 63-53, entering the fourth quarter.

With Asi Taulava and Mark Barroca joining forces with Tiu, the Nationals were never threatened the rest of the way en route to the win that allowed them to rebound from their sorry 54-79 loss to powerhouse Lebanon at the start of the tourney on Saturday.

Tiu finished with14 points, a marked improvement from his two-point output in the first game.

Taulava backed Tiu with a double-double effort of 16 points and 19 rebounds while Barroca came up with the same number of points. as the Nationals managed to prevail despite missing the services of seven-foot Fil-Am Greg Slaughter and 6-foot-7 former UAAP MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini.

The 6-foot-9 Taulava was loaned from the Coca-Cola Tigers and the PBA to backstop the national team which also missed naturalization candidate Marcus Douthit, who has yet to secure his Philippine passport.

Madanly finished with game-high 27 points while Dyar settled for 20 points for Syria, which absorbed its second los in as many outings.

With a 1-1 card, the Philippines is currently at third behind Lebanon (1-0) and Qatar (2-0). Jordan is toting a 0-1 card for the fourth.

The Filipinos were playing defending champion Jordan at presstime. They will face Qatar on Wednesday.