Asian Games Basketball Tournament News and Updates

[spidey]

mukhang tambakan ang laban dito brader, malaki tsansa ng Pinas dyan

[Zurca]

Gilas Pilipinas set for India showdown at Asian Games

MANILA, Philippines - Gilas Pilipinas will make its 2014 Asian Games debut on Tuesday, September 23 against India after the Indian squad advanced from the qualifying round with a 3-0 record. India squashed Palestine, 89-49, on opening day, before defeating Saudi Arabia, 73-67, and upsetting the favored Kazakhstan, 80-61 to advance to Group E with the Philippines and Iran.

Joginder Singh of India top-scored against Kazakhstan with 25, including 7-12 three-pointers to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, according to pba-online.net. The 5-foot-9 guard finally broke out after scoring 6 points against Palestine and 0 against Saudi Arabia.

The Philippine men’s national basketball team, which was given a pass into the second round as it was one of the top 8 teams from the 2010 Guangzhou Games, defeated India, 70-66, in their last meeting on July 17 in the FIBA Asia Cup.

Paul Lee led the way with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals while Marcus Douthit, who is returning to the active roster after Andray Blatche was ruled ineligible, brought in 14 points and 12 rebounds. (RELATED: LA Tenorio on Asian Games: ‘We’re targeting gold’)

Gilas assistant coach Josh Reyes, who scouted the India vs Kazakhstan game, tweeted that India was not a team to overlook.

“India is fast becoming a serious team in Asia. Their rotation of 5 big men 6'10 and over is solid!,” said Reyes, the son of head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes.


'Persian Plague'

Iran, which finished 3rd at the 2010 Asian Games, will play Gilas on Thursday, September 25. The top two teams from Groups C, D, E and F will then advance to the quarterfinal stage.

Despite cracking the “Korean Curse” at the FIBA Asia Championship in 2013, the Philippines has been bedeviled by Iran and the "Persian Plague" recently, losing in the FIBA Asia final to settle for silver before sustaining a 21-point drubbing in July’s FIBA Asia Cup and being relegated to the bronze medal playoff.

Iran will face India on Wednesday, September 25. Both Gilas games against India and Iran begin at 2 pm local time.

Kazakhstan (2-1) also advanced from Group B with a superior point difference to Saudi Arabia, which also had a 2-1 record. They’ll be grouped with China and Chinese Taipei in Group C.

Kuwait (3-0) and Mongolia (2-1) advanced from Group A. Mongolia will be grouped with Jordan and South Korea in Group D while Kuwait joins Japan and Qatar in Group F.

From Rappler
Post Merge: September 22, 2014, 07:03:34 PM2014 Asian Games basketball roundup: Day Two

Basketball action continued in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea yesterday with a couple of upsets. Kuwait buried Hong Kong to move up to 2-0, while the ballyhooed Indians suffered a blow to their campaign after losing to Saudi Arabia. Mongolia and Kazakhstan also got their second wins to bolster their chances of advancing.

Game recaps

Kuwait over Hong Kong, 81-65

Kuwait led most of the way here and limited Hong Kong to just 9 points in the fourth quarter to come up with their second victory in as many outings. Kuwait outrebounded Hong Kong, 43-36, and shot better from the field (45% to 36%). Ahmad Al-Baloushi and Hussein Al-Khabbaz each scored 15 points to lead the winners, while 6’8 Saleh Al-Brahim added a dozen markers and 7 boards. Hong Kong drew 16 points and 4 triples from shooter Lee Ki, but ace players Lo Yi Ting and Duncan Reid combined to shoot just 5/18 from the floor.


Kazakhstan over Palestine, 72-50

The Kazakhs pretty much toyed with Palestine in this one and easily notched win no. 2. This result means the Kazakhs have the inside track to top Group B and, quite possibly, join Iran and the Philippines in the next round. Palestine was forced into committing 16 turnovers and shooting just 34% from the field. Not surprisingly, Sani Sakanini was the lone bright spot for the losing side with 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. On the other end, the victors were paced by Anatoliy Kolesnikov and Pavel Ilin, who tallied 21 and 18 markers respectively. Anton Ponomarev also did well for the Kazakhs, dropping a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double.


Mongolia over Maldives, 112-54

Mongolia had a bit of a slow start in this one, but it managed to right the ship and proceed to blow Maldives out. The Mongolians lorded over the Maldivians on the boards, 44-37, while also forcing forty turnovers behind 26 steals. Battur Ganbold, Odbayar Batdorj, and Bilguun Battuvishin each scored 16 points for the winners, with Ganbold also accounting for 4 steals. The Maldives, meanwhile, got a combined 24 markers from Ibrahim Rashwaan and Mohamed Zilaal.


Saudi Arabia over India, 73-67

Saudi Arabia caught fire at the start and caught India in a stupor to pull off this big upset. Though they lost the rebounding battle, the Saudis compensated by forcing 17 Indian turnovers and limiting their foes to just 4/22 shooting from beyond the arc. The Saudis were also more aggressive in attacking the basket, attempting 8 more free throws than India (KSA was 18/24 and India was 11/16). Fahad Belal had 17 points to lead the Saudis to their first win, while Mohammad Al-Sager added 14 markers and 8 rebounds. Big man Mohammed Al-Marwani was a tower of strength here, dropping 12 points, 13 boards, and 2 rejections. On the other end, India was paced by the 19 points and 10 rebounds of Amritpal Singh, while Amjyot Singh and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi contributed 19 and 10 markers respectively. Saudi Arabia can formalize its entry to the next round if it beats Palestine today, while India faces the tall task of having to defeat Kazakhstan to have a chance of moving on.

[2013rev2013]

Gilas Pilipinas trumps India to kick off Asian Games campaign



MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas leaned on a hot start and never relented as they hammered India, 85-76, to notch their first win in Group E action of the 2014 Asian Games on Tuesday, September 23 in Incheon, South Korea.

Gilas started the game on a 16-0 run and never looked back as they cruised to a victory over India.

The Philippines avoided a repeat of their last meeting with India during the FIBA Asia Cup in July where they squandered 16-point lead in the last 5 minutes to Philippines escape the Indians’ 14-0 run to end the contest.

Marcus Douthit and Jeff Chan both scored 14 to lead 6 Gilas players in double figures. Gary David followed with 13, while June Mar Fajardo scored 12. Ginebra teammates LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar each scored 10.

Gilas was on fire to start the Asiad with guard LA Tenorio sinking back-to-back shots from downtown and eventually racing to a 16-0 advantage to start. But the Indians, riding solid momentum after upsetting favored Kazakhstan in the preliminary round just a day earlier, managed to settle down and end the first behind only 24-16.

But 24-year old June Mar Fajardo provided quality minutes for the rest of the first half as he led Gilas with 12 markers at that point. Jeff Chan added 11 points in the first half as well as Gilas shot 6-of-13 from beyond the arc.

The Gilas full-court press continued to give India problems throughout the game as the Philippines, who also had their own momentum going for them coming off an inspiring FIBA World Cup run, answered every Indian rally with hot shooting and beautifully executed offense sparked by good ball movement.

The nationals pressed their foot on the gas pedal in the third, with Japeth Aguilar also coming alive, as Gilas led by 19-point bulges in that frame.

Like their previous match-up, India showed character and fought back until the very end. They patiently executed their offense and came to within 84-76 with 44 ticks left after a pair of triples.

Gilas shot 32-61 from the field for 52% while India shot 28-63 for 44%. Gilas hit 9-20 from three point range while India hit 12-27.

The Philippines will face Iran in a much-anticipated match-up on Thursday, September 25 in a rematch of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships Finals while India faces Iran on Wednesday. The top two teams of Group E will advance to the quarterfinals.



Philippines def. India, 85-76

Philippines 85 - Douthit 14, Chan 14, David 13, Fajardo 12, Aguilar 10, Tenorio 10, De Ocampo 4, Norwood 3, Lee 2, Dillinger 2, Alapag 1, Pingris 0.

India 76 - Amritpal 16, Amjyot 15, Bhriguvanshi 13, Joginder 13, Pratham 11, Brar 6, Pethani 2, Yadwinder 0, Grewal 0, Pari 0, Mishra 0, Sivakumar 0.

[spidey]

good start for GILAS ayun mabuti may Gary David pala akala ko hindi kasali

[Ozymandias]

For me 2nd-4th place ang Gilas dito, it is either Iran or China ang magchamp dito. Siguro kung si Blatche instead of Douthit mas malaki yung chance nila vs Iran / China. Lalo na wala si Castro sa line up.

[2013rev2013]

iba yung play pag nandyan si blatche, minsan nag-iso sya, sya pa magbababa ng bola pagkarebound..
iba din play pag si douthit, mas nakakahawak ng bola mga shooters..
saka iba din ngayon mas nagimprove na si fajardo..
yung 2 games sa fiba world hawak ni castro bola sa crucial seconds, pero di nya naexecute ng maayos..

well wala ako alam masyado sa basketbol, nanonood lang ako at yun lang napansin ko...   

[Zurca]

Gilas Pilipinas tries to finally beat Hamed Haddadi’s Iran

The Philippine national men’s basketball team hopes to finally get over the hump against tormentor Iran as it plunges back to action in the Asian Games basketball competition on Thursday in Incheon, South Korea.

Gilas Pilipinas and Iran tussle at 1 p.m. live on TV5.

Both Gilas Pilipinas and Iran are already assured of spots to the next round after their wins over India, but the Filipinos will have an extra motivation to win the game as they try to finally end the defending FIBA Asia champion’s reign over them.

One of Iran’s reasons behind its dominance is 7’2″ behemoth Hamed Haddadi, who has given headaches to the Filipino frontline on both ends of the court.

Gilas Pilipinas center Marcus Douthit has already conceded that no one in Asia could contain Haddadi.

“Haddadi is so big, you cannot really stop him. Haddadi is a scorer, nobody’s gonna stop him in Asia,” Douthit told InterAksyon.com days before the team left for Incheon.

But Douthit said that the key to winning over Iran is by putting the clamps on its other players instead of focusing too much on Haddadi.

“Only thing you can do is to stop the players around him,” Douthit said. “For the most part, we just gotta stop everyone else and let everyone else beat us. They can’t bring the ball up if Haddadi can’t get the ball so that’s the first thing that we have to be worried about.”

Apart from Haddadi, Iran also boasts of prolific wingman Samad Nikkhah Bahrami and veteran guard Mahdi Kamrani, whose abilities to drive and shoot from the outside helped them mesh with their center’s inside game.

Douthit said that he will try his best to tire Haddadi.

“At the same time, I’ve gotta be way more aggressive than I had in the past against him just to try get him tired,” Douthit said.

The improvement of June Mar Fajardo from Gilas Pilipinas’ FIBA Basketball World Cup stint will also help a lot in trying to stifle Haddadi, according to Douthit.

“June Mar got a lot of experience playing against tough big guys in the world and I think its gonna show against Iran,” Douthit said. “June Mar is not scared anymore, he’s not worried, he’s ready. He don’t care who’s in front of him, that’s the big thing that June Mar accomplished over the time he’s learning with Gilas.”

Armed with their valuable experience from the world stage, Douthit hopes the Filipinos could finally beat Haddadi and Iran.

“They’re the best team in Asia. We just gotta match their intensity, we just got a be more aggressive,” Douthit said. “This time I think it’s gonna be a different outcome.

“Since we’re playing against the tough teams in the past months, I think we should be OK.”

From InterAksyon
Post Merge: September 25, 2014, 11:36:54 AMKazakhstan stuns Chinese Taipei to book third win in four days

Kazakhstan pulled off a 74-68 victory over Chinese Taipei to win its third match in four days in the Asian Games basketball competition at Sam San World Gymnasium Tuesday in Incheon, South Korea.

Anatoliy Kolesnikov scored 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Kazakhs, who have not rested since the qualifiers started last Saturday. In that round, they needed to win two matches before advancing to the tournament proper.

Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, had gained a bye to the preliminary round and played its first game of the competition.

Kazakhstan zoomed to a 23-14 first quarter lead which helped the squad grab a 40-30 halftime lead over Chinese Taipei.

Chinese Taipei was able to close to within six, 49-43, entering the final frame after Kazakhstan was just able to score nine points in the whole third quarter.

Both teams engaged in a high-scoring fourth quarter where they both scored 25 points apiece. But Kazakhstan was able to withstand Chinese Taipei to register its third win of the tournament in four outings.

In the qualifying rounds, Kazakhstan walloped Saudi Arabia, 89-59, and Palestine, 72-50, before dropping a 80-61 result to India to join Group C with Chinese Taipei and defending champion China.

Lu Cheng Ju scored 17 points to lead Chinese Taipei, which suffered a huge blow to its medal chances after naturalized star Quincy Davis was not allowed to play due to his failure to meet residency rules.

From InterAksyon
Post Merge: September 25, 2014, 03:40:23 PMGilas Pilipinas falls short in valiant effort against mighty Iran

Reigning FIBA Asia Championships and FIBA Asia Cup titlists Iran came through in the clutch to once again torment the Philippine national men’s basketball team, 68-63, to top Group E in the 2014 Asian Games basketball tournament in Incheon, Korea.

Gilas Pilipinas positioned itself as a true threat to Iran in this game, coming back from an early double-digit lead to hold the lead for much of the second half before eventually falling short in the end.

Iran scored the final seven points of the contest.

Veteran Samad Nikkhah Bahrami scored 21 points to lead Iran while former NBA player Hamed Haddadi posted 20 points and 15 rebounds in the games.

Paul Lee led the Philippines with 11 points while Marcus Douthit and LA Tenorio had 10 apiece.

The Iran offense was in full swing in the first quarter. Bahrami was in top form, hitting threes and driving to the basket for with ease to score 10 points while Haddadi manned the post admirably as the FIBA Asia champs looked to stamp their class in a second straight game.

They opened the game on a 19-6 run and closed the period with a 12-point advantage, 29-17.

But Gilas Pilipinas, bidding to win its first Asian Games gold in over 50 years, was not about to let Iran steamroll through without a real, credible fight.

After giving up 29 points in the first period, the Filipinos clamped down in the second period, allowing only seven points, even holding mighty Iran scoreless for a stretch of over four minutes.

Douthit anchored the steadfast Gilas defense, stuffing both Haddadi and point guard Mehdi Kamrani in their respective forays into the paint and even stepping out to block Bahrami on an attempt in the perimeter.

Iran entered the halftime break with their lead cut down to just two, 36-34.

Bahrami had 13 points while Haddadi had 10 at the half while the balanced Philippines offense was led by Douthit’s eight and Norwood’s seven.

The third quarter featured a game of runs for both teams.

Gilas Pilipinas took the lead in the third period after Paul Lee fired off five straight points – a three-pointer and a breakaway in transition – to give the Filipinos a 39-36 lead.

Iran would counter with six straight points later in the quarter, the last two on free throws off a Marc Pingris unsportsmanlike foul, to reclaim the lead at 43-41. But the Philippines sprung right back with a 10-1 run, kicked off by back-to-back three-pointers from LA Tenorio, to take a 51-44 advantage.

Iran fired off six unanswered points, coming to as close as one point, 51-50, before Gary David knocked down a midrange jumper to make it a three-point lead heading into the final period.

The Filipinos opened the fourth on a 7-3 run with Pingris knocking down one of two attempts from the free throw line to make it 60-53 as the Filipino supporters chanted ‘Sakuragi’ from the stands.

But Haddadi scored in the post and and Kamrani erupted for six straight points, a free throw, a layup and a three-pointer, as the 8-0 run erased Gilas’ lead and put Iran up 61-60.

Lee knocked down a free throw and Norwood ran the floor with Jeff Chan to earn a trip of his own to the line and make it 63-61 for the Filipinos.

But it was the veteran Bahrami taking over in the endgame. He scored five consecutive points on a field goal and three out of four free throws to put the Asian powerhouses up, 66-63, with just 22 seconds remaining.

Haddadi hit two more free throws to seal the final margin.

Iran finished on top of the group with a 2-0 record while Gilas will also enter the quarterfinals with a 1-1 mark.

India was the third team in Group E and was eliminated at 0-2 after their loss to Iran yesterday.

The scores:
Iran (68) – Bahrami 21, Haddadi 20, Kamrani 12, Arghavan 6, Jamshidi 3, Yakhchali 3, Afagh 2, Mashayekhi 1, Zangeneh 0, Sahakian 0.

Gilas Pilipinas (63) – Lee 11, Douthit 10, Tenorio 10, Norwood 9, De Ocampo 6, Pingris 5, David 4, Chan 3, Dillinger 3, Fajardo 2, Aguilar 0, Alapag 0.

Quarterscores: 29-17, 36-34, 50-53, 68-63.

From InterAksyon

[Ozymandias]

iba yung play pag nandyan si blatche, minsan nag-iso sya, sya pa magbababa ng bola pagkarebound..
iba din play pag si douthit, mas nakakahawak ng bola mga shooters..
saka iba din ngayon mas nagimprove na si fajardo..
yung 2 games sa fiba world hawak ni castro bola sa crucial seconds, pero di nya naexecute ng maayos..

well wala ako alam masyado sa basketbol, nanonood lang ako at yun lang napansin ko...   

Sa akin parang same player pa rin si Fajardo, depende kasi sa match ups yan, okay siya vs smaller players or halos ka size nya dahil nasanay sya sa PBA na ino overpower nya ung smaller defenders. Kung napanood mo yung recent game kanina vs Iran, nagkakalat at nagstruggle si Fajardo at bumalik sya sa old ways nya na fouling at travelling spree nya. Excited nga yung mga sports analyst sa match up nila e kaso di talaga uubra kay Haddadi who is taller and longer than him. Nakalimutan nila na Douthit vs Haddadi talaga yung totoong match-up.


Yung kay Castro naman kasi na scout na sya ng maayos, alam ng mga coaches kagaya ng coach ng Argentina na sya go to guy sa crucial seconds. Kaya biglang binaligtad ni Chot Reyes na "wala" daw go-to guy ang Gilas nung nabantayan si Castro at di naging effective sa WC, pero yun talaga yung role ni Castro sa team since sya nga yung "best" PG of asia.

[2013rev2013]

di ko inabutan kanina 4th quarter ko na napanood...
well para sa akin boss mas nagimprove si Fajardo now, kasi nung fiba asia kahit sinong ka-match up nya wala syang gawang matino, 4 consecutive fouls tapos di makatira, ngayon medyo may pasensya na sya.. maganda depensa ni Douthit kanina kaya di masyado makalayo Iran, sayang nga lang yung mga last possessions, kung si Blatche sana tumira nung tres baka OT pa... 

yung kay castro siguro kasama na din dun yung di sya nabababad sa laro kaya di nya makuha rhythm nya.

hoping for the GOLD pa rin ako..
bilog ang bola, wala ng Chinese Taipei.. 

[Ozymandias]

Tama ka rin naman mas may pasensya na si Fajardo, pero so far yung ina-advertise nila na improvement ay di ko talaga makita. Makikita natin yan lalo vs China kung sakali makaharap nila na mas malalaki sa Iran.


Yun din difference ni Blatche at ni Douthit. More on defensive anchor si Douthit, at better post up player. Si Blatche obviously an iso player at medyo all around player. Mas nag-aattract ng defense actually si Blatche kaysa kay Douthit.


Actually babad nga si Castro e, at kahit malas pinapasok sya. Diba nga favorite line up ni Chot:
5-Blatche 4-De Ocampo/Pingris 3-Norwood 2-Castro 1-Alapag. 3 TNT players yan. Si Jeff Chan yung wala sa Rhythm kasi paiba iba yung playing time nya. Yung wala rin sa Rhythm sila Japeth at Gary David dahil nakalimutan sila sa bench.


Kaya naman nila manalo yun nga lang questionable yung end game plays ni Chot, pati yung pag shuffle nya ng players.

[Zurca]

Gilas Pilipinas begins quarterfinal campaign against unbeaten Qatar

Still licking its wounds from a painful defeat to Iran, the Philippine national men’s basketball team plunges right into quarterfinal action barely a day after the close decision against reigning FIBA Asia Championship titlist in the 2014 Asian Games basketball tournament in Incheon, Korea.

The Gilas Pilipinas national team will try to bounce back against a dangerous Qatar squad that topped Group F in the preliminary round to open their respective quarterfinal campaigns.

Gametime is at 5:30 p.m. live on TV5.

Much like in its campaign in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, the Philippines nearly came away with a win against the highly-touted opposition only to falter in the end as they fell to Asia powerhouse Iran in Group E, 68-63, in a rematch of the title game in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championships in Manila.

The team will be hoping to better in another FIBA Asia rematch, this time against Qatar, which is unbeaten in the tournament so far after defeating Kuwait and Japan in its two games.

Qatar’s Khalid Suliman Abdi is averaging 18.5 points in the tournament while Erfan Ali Saeed has been solid with 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

The two teams played each other in the FIBA Asia in Manila, where the Filipinos came out on top, 80-70. Qatar, which played then with naturalized player Jarvis Hayes, will not have the services of the former NBA player here, instead tapping Boney Harold Watson.

Gilas, which is bidding for the country’s first Asian Games gold medal in over 50 years, will need to develop a killer’s instinct – something they did not show in their loss to Iran – if they hope to accomplish their goal.

“Kailangan may killer’s instinct ka talaga. Kasi yung mga kalaban wala silang pakialam sa iyo, wala silang pakialam sa team natin,” forward Ranidel De Ocampo told InterAksyon.com before the team left for Korea.

“Wala rin tayong dapat pakialam sa kanila. Basta kami, lalabanan namin kayo. Yun ang mentality ng mga kalaban doon.”

From InterAksyon

[2013rev2013]

ano nangyari? 



Gilas suffers shock loss to Qatar at Asian Games

Gilas Pilipinas suffers a shocking loss to Qatar in their Asian Games quarterfinal match with 2 games still to play. Gilas Pilipinas suffered a shock defeat to Qatar, 77-68, in the first game of the Asian Games men's basketball quarterfinals on Friday, September 26 in Incheon, South Korea. Gilas will now have to defeat South Korea and Kazakhstan on Saturday and Sunday to have a shot at advancing to the semifinals from Group H.

Jimmy Alapag, who came alive in the second half with four three pointers, topscored for Gilas with 15 points while Marcus Douthit was the only other Gilas player in double figures with 10 to go with 5 rebounds. Marc Pingris had 9 points and 8 rebounds but turned the ball over 5 times.

Mohd Mohamed led Qatar with 19 points - including 3-3 from three point range - to go with 8 rebounds while Boney Watson scored 15.

Gilas led 39-36 at the half before Qatar exploded for a 15-0 run to begin the third.

Qatar, which is so far unbeaten at 3-0 in the Asian Games, shot 56% from the field and 10-23 from three point range for 43%. Gilas, which was coming off a disappointing loss to Iran the day before, shot just 39% from the field and 39% from three point range. Gilas turned the ball over 2 times more, 18-16, but won the rebound battle 32-27.

In other Asian Games basketball action, South Korea defeated Kazakhstan 77-60 in Group H while China blew out Mongolia 108-67 in Group G.

Game Highlights:
-Jimmy Alapag with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists (5/6 from 3)
-Paul Lee with 9 points
-Marcus Douthit with 10 points and 5 rebounds
-Marc Pingris with 9 points and 8 rebounds
-Jeff Chan with 7 points
-LA Tenorio with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals
-Gilas Pilipinas with 16 turnovers

Game Scores:
Philippines 68 – Alapag 15, Douthit 10, Lee 9, Pingris 9, Chan 7, Tenorio 5, David 4, Dillinger 3, de Ocampo 2, Fajardo 2, Norwood 2, Aguilar 0.

[Zurca]

Oo nga eh, now must win na yung laban si Korea and Kazakhstan. Sayang.

Gilas Pilipinas suffers huge third quarter drought as red-hot Qatar remains unbeaten

The Philippine national men’s basketball team struggled bigtime in the second half as Qatar came away with a 77-68 victory in the round-robin quarterfinals of Asian Games basketball competition Friday in Incheon, South Korea.

Holding a 39-36 halftime lead, Gilas Pilipinas suffered a huge drought in the third period, going scoreless for more than seven minutes which Qatar took advantage as it launched a 15-0 run to grab a commanding 51-39 lead.

Team captain Jimmy Alapag kept Gilas Pilipinas afloat, burying his signature triples as the Filipinos went to as close as four points in the fourth quarter.

But big baskets from small but quick naturalized guard Boney Watson and big man Mohd Mohamed bailed out the Qataris as they extended their unbeaten streak in the tournament to three games.

Alapag finished with 15 points on five of six triples, while Douthit added 10 markers to lead Gilas Pilipinas.

Gilas Pilipinas had a slow start to the game, failing to execute its fluid offense as it went without a field goal for more than three minutes into the first period. Douthit then scored six straight points, while Marc Pingris finally made two free throws after missing three of his first four to give the Filipinos their first lead, 12-9, after an 8-0 run.

Gilas Pilipinas scored the first period’s last four points to end the quarter with a 19-all tie before Paul Lee fired two straight three-pointers to fuel a 12-0 run that gave them a 27-19 lead at the 7:10 mark of the second period.

But Watson carried Qatar, injecting energy with his drives and converting a triple to prevent Gilas Pilipinas from pulling away, 34-32.

Jeff Chan then buried a triple before converting a tough leaning jumper as Gilas Pilipinas grabbed a 39-36 halftime lead.

Qatar scorched hot from downtown to start the third period, as Watson buried one trey and Mohamed showing his range by firing three straight triples for a 15-0 run ignited by five triples that gave them back the lead, 51-39.

With nothing going well for Gilas Pilipinas, coach Chot Reyes decided to field a small lineup, with neither centers Douthit nor June Mar Fajardo on the floor.

Alapag then subbed in with over two minutes left in the third period to lead the small ball Gilas Pilipinas. He made his presence felt right away after firing three straight triples for a 9-2 run that kept the Filipinos within five, 56-51, entering the final frame.

Gilas Pilipinas kept on fighting, with Pingris sinking two free throws to trim Qatar’s lead to four, 63-59.

But Watson made two straight layups, then Mohamed also converted underneath to bail out Qatar, 74-65, with just over one minute remaining which was too much too overcome for Gilas Pilipinas.

Mohamed led all scorers with 19 points while Watson made 15 markers to spearhead Qatar.

Gilas Pilipinas tries to bounce back on Saturday in a must-win game against rival South Korea.

From InterAksyon

[my_era67]

Philippines in a must win situation against SoKor... Gilas must duplicate their win during their last outing. And so with SoKor to prove that they can win against Philippines. We will be seeing again a classic match. Hopefully our boys won't succumb to pressure. PUSO!

[spidey]

kupow Fajardo 2 Aguilar 0.... anyare sa mga players na to... puro puso.... atay naman gamitin sa sunod