Gilas Pilipinas 5.0 had to weather a huge third quarter comeback from Kazakhstan to come out victorious in dominant fashion, 98-84, and post their very first win in the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 Tuesday afternoon in Tehran, Iran.
For the fourth straight game, forward Rey Mark Belo starred for the Nationals once more, this time by posting a monstrous double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds. Ed Daquioag contributed 17 markers, while Russel Escoto made 12.
The victory in the must-win situation gives Gilas a glimmer of hope in cracking the tournament quarterfinals, but they still have to overcome a tough Jordan team tomorrow afternoon to boost their chances further.
Gilas went off to a dominant and blistering start in the game’s opener through their on-point shooting from the perimeter, switching their 8-2 lead early to a 22-7 lead with 3:33 on the clock. The Kazakhs broke into double-digit scoring, 22-10, but the Filipinos, behind Mike Tolomia, Jaymar Perez, and Chris Javier, maintained their 12-point lead, 27-15, to end the quarter.
Kazakhstan’s offense picked up in the next frame, trimming a ten-point deficit to just six, 33-27, with 4:06 left. Gilas kept on making shots courtesy of Perez and Carl Cruz to keep the Kazakhs at bay, but the latter were also converting from mid-range to close within distance. But from a slim 38-32 gap, Philippines made a 9-5 spree led by Belo to close the first half in their favor, 47-37.
Both squads displayed exchanges of scoring runs in the third canto. From a nine-point, 53-44 lead in the opening minutes of the quarter, Gilas posted their biggest lead of the game at 17, 65-48, after a Tolomia triple in the 4:16 mark. The Kazakhs, however, ran back from the deficit with a huge 18-5 run — mostly off charities — to head into the final frame behind by just four, 70-66.
The four-point gap was the closest Kazakhstan could get, as they failed to sustain momentum in the game’s final ten minutes. With their three-point shooting missing it’s target, Gilas capitalized on such and was able to post a huge 93-77 lead after a Kevin Ferrer trey with 2:16 left. From there, Gilas kept the Kazakhs at bay and never looked back to coast to their first win of the cagefest, 98-84.
Four players scored in double figures for Kazakhstan. Mikhail Yevstigneyev paced his team with 23 points. Pavel Ilin had 18, while Nikolay Bazhkin and Pavel Micheev each scored 17 in the loss.
The Philippines shot better from the field with a 45.2 percent clip. They also moved the ball better compared to Kazakhstan, 15 to 8, but they were outrebounded by just five boards, 49 to 44.
Gilas 5.0 (1-3) will try to reign victorious in another must-win match against Jordan tomorrow, Wednesday, September 14, at 1:30 PM in their final match of the second round.
The Scores:
Philippines (98) – Belo 30, Daquioag 17, Escoto 12, Ferrer 8, Perez 7, Javier 6, Cruz 6, Pogoy 3, Gotladera 2, Van Opstal 1, Pessumal 0.
Kazakhstan (84) – Yevstigneyev 23, Ilin 18, Bazhkin 17, Micheev 17, Kuanov 4, Konyssov 3, Savchenko 2, Kozhanov 2, Lapchenko 0, Maidekin 0, Gubashev 0, Utegen 0.
Quarterscores: 27-15, 47-37, 70-66, 98-84.
