The recent Fiba-Asia Champions Cup may have been tough for the Smart Gilas national team and its temporary Serbian reinforcement, Milan Vucicevic, but I think we can all agree that the picture above clearly shows that Milan is a winner. My favorite part of the photo? Assistant coach Allan Gregorio looking on in the background.

UPDATE: GilasInsider points out in the comments that the pretty girl in the picture is actually the girlfriend of Rey Guevarra, who is the true winner. Good job man!

(Photo nicked off the official Facebook page of Smart Gilas.)

Meanwhile, the national team, which aims to win the 2011 Fiba-Asia Championship to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics, is reportedly bringing in a new prospect, Marcus Douthit, a veteran of European and Korean leagues. In college, Douthit was a defensive force, averaging 3.2 blocks per game, and a limited offensive player, putting up 7.8 points per game, before being drafted in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft by the LA Lakers.

Douthit looks like he has pretty good size – he was measured at 6’ 9.5” without shoes (6’ 11” with shoes on) before the draft – and length, with a wingspan of 7’4” and a 9’ 3.5” standing reach.

There is a minor, if weird, blemish on Douthit’s record, as reported by Sham Sports:

Rather uniquely, [Douthit] was charged in connection to his role in an identity theft and embezzlement scheme. He was charged with conspiracy to commit embezzlement and embezzlement over $100 after allegedly receiving money from a fake car accident in December 2001. Someone asked Douthit to deposit a check for $6,500, then withdraw the money a couple of days later. Only a small part of a massive scam. Douthit co-operated with the authorities, and his criminal record was cleared once he paid a fine of at least $6,500 and performed community service.

He looks eminently more ‘signable’ for Smart Gilas than most of the other prospects they’ve been looking at, such as Greg Stiemsma and Dwayne Jones, precisely because Douthit has been out of the NBA radar for years now. Hopefully, everything finally works out for the embattled national team. At the very least, we can be sure that there’s a bed waiting for Douthit that would fit his almost 7-foot frame.