“This will be an excellent opportunity for us to show, make good grade,” Smart-Gilas Serbian coach Rajko Toroman said on Tuesday during the PSA Forum at the Shakey’s Restaurant in U.N. Avenue, Manila. “It’s good basketball for Smart-Gilas.”

The Jordan national team and China’s Dongguan club team will give the Smart-Gilas national squad a great opportunity to further improve its chances in the coming Guangzhou Asian Games in November.

The two foreign squads will provide the test for the nationals in the coming 2010 MVP Invitational Championship set June 24-27 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Also entered are the Philippine Basketball Association’s Talk ‘N Text and Barangay Ginebra teams.

“This will be an excellent opportunity for us to show, make good grade,” Smart-Gilas Serbian coach Rajko Toroman said on Tuesday during the PSA Forum at the Shakey’s Restaurant in U.N. Avenue, Manila. “It’s good basketball for Smart-Gilas.”

The Jordanians are coached by Mario Palma of Portugal and will have among their players naturalized American player Rasheim Wright, Sam Daghlas, Zaid Abbaas, 7-footer Ayman Dais, and 7-foot-2 Jamal Maaytah.

The Dongguan Leopards, one of the top teams in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), will be headed by coach Brian Goorjian, considered as the most successful coach in Australian basketball history.

Goorjian coached Australia from 2001 to 2008, helping the Boomers place seventh overall in the previous Olympics in Beijing.

“Our opponents are top teams (in Asia and CBA). Jordan qualified for the World Championship (in Turkey this September), while Dongguan will have the former coach of Australia national team, which played in the Olympics. They beat the US team in a pre-tournament,” Toroman said.

According to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Noli Eala, the games against the two PBA teams will count in the win-loss records of the national team, Jordan and Dongguan but not towards the invitational title as their games will be exhibition matches.

Meanwhile, Smart-Gilas’ reinforcement Marcus Douthit arrived on Tuesday, and the 6-foot-11 center who was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Rookie Draft, will be on a two-week tryout before the team makes a decision whether or not to formally sign him as naturalized player.

Eala said that if Douthit passes the tryout, his naturalization papers will be expedited.

“We will try to get the naturalization at all cost for the Asian Games,” said Eala.