Gilas Pilipinas tried to turn it up again in the fourth quarter, but the breaks of the game veered away from them as they lost to Korea, 83-72, in the 39th William Jones Cup, Wednesday night at the Taipei Peace Basketball Hall in Taiwan.
The loss drags the Philippines’ record to 3-2.
American reinforcement Mike Myers powered Gilas with 18 points alongside 17 rebounds. Point guard Jio Jalalon also scored 18 markers on 7-of-11 shooting, while Christian Standhardinger produced 16 points.
“We just couldn’t make shots,” rued Gilas head coach Chot Reyes, as his wards nailed just one out of their 26 attempts from beyond the arc. “I don’t have the stats, but I think we shot one of sixty five from the three-point line. We can’t beat a team that zones us if we can’t hit outside.”
The Filipinos were down huge, 66-51, entering the game’s final 10 minutes, but made a spirited comeback through a 20-6 surge perfectly capped by Myers’ one-handed putback slam to threaten the Koreans, 73-69, with 2:13 left.
That, however, proved to be the last lap the Philippines could run. Korea’s veteran forward Oh Se Keun stepped up to the plate, nailing back-to-back lay-ups to keep the team in white at bay, 77-69, with 1:14 left to play.
Six made shots from the foul line by the Koreans in the closing seconds proved to be the nail in the coffin that buried Gilas once and for all.
Still, the veteran mentor had a reason to feel positive despite the stinging loss.
“We gave up only eighty-three points. A lot of that were free throws in the end when we were fouling. Essentially, we held a very good team to eighty points,” he said.
Kiefer Ravena only added eight markers and five assists for Gilas in the loss. Matthew Wright, who has made his presence felt in the last four games, was limited to just four markers as he went just 2-for-10 from the field.
Oh led the Koreans with 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting. Lee Junghyun also produced 14, while Choi Junyong and Heo Ung supplied 11 markers apiece. Korea shot 63 percent from the perimeter.
Gilas shot 52 percent of their two-pointers, but their ball rotation was not on point as they only had eight assists. They outrebounded their counterparts though, 40-28, and forced the Koreans to 15 turnovers.
The Nationals will next face Iraq tomorrow, July 20, also at 5:00 PM.
The Scores:
Gilas Pilipinas (72) – Myers 18, Jalalon 18, Standhardinger 16, Ravena 8, Parks 4, Wright 4, Cruz 2, Pogoy 2, Tolomia 0, Ferrer 0, Jose 0.
South Korea (83) – Oh 14, Lee Ju 14, Choi 11, Heo U 11, Kim S 8, Lee S 6, Lim 6, Heo H 6, Lee Jo 5, Kim J 2, Jeon 0.
Quarterscores: 16-20, 37-42, 51-66, 72-83.
