The young Gilas Pilipinas squad lost their composure in the final frame against Chinese Taipei and suffered their second straight defeat, 87-76, in the group phase of the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 Sunday night in Tehran, Iran.
Belo led Gilas 5.0 once more, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven boards. Combo guard Perez produced 15 markers, while Tolomia and Ferrer each nailed 11.
From a 6-all tie in the 7:18 mark of the opening frame, Gilas utilized their offense from the perimeter and scored eight straight points through Mark Belo, Mike Tolomia, and Roger Pogoy, to post an eight-point lead, 14-6, midway. Chinese Taipei made an 8-2 run of their own sparked by P. Chou and Y. Chou to close in by two, 16-14, but Gilas’ hot shooting made way for another 8-3 spree behind Carl Cruz, Russel Escoto, Arnold Van Opstal, and CJ Perez to end the quarter in their favor, 24-17
Gilas led by as much as 12, 29-17, in the opening sequence of the following quarter. Chinese Taipei came back from the double-digit deficit, maximizing their presence from the perimeter and inside the paint through Jones, Liu, and Y. Chou, to inch within a point, 31-30, with less than five minutes remaining. Gilas, however, regained their touch on offense, outscoring the Taiwanese, 12-8, capped by baskets from Perez to close the first half ahead by five, 43-38
Chinese Taipei fought back from the deficit in the third canto, unfurling a 12-6 run behind their mid-range shooting to take the lead, 50-49, in the 4:54 mark. From there, both squads engaged in a nip-and-tuck affair, eventually sending the quarter to a 56-all knot with 2:58 on the clock. The Taiwanese gained the upper hand first from the tie, 61-58, but Gilas, behind Kevin Ferrer and Perez, managed to neutralize Chinese Taipei’s attacks to wrap up the frame all tied at 62.
Philippines tried to keep it close in the game’s final ten minutes, but the Taiwanese displayed experience and poise down the stretch. From a slim 70-67 deficit, Chinese Taipei unleashed a 10-2 run led by Davis, Hu, and Chiang to post an eleven-point lead, 80-69, with less than five minutes left. Gilas then lost composure in the closing minutes, paving the way for Chinese Taipei to cruise to an 87-76 victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
Six Taiwanese players scored in double figures in tonight’s win. Naturalized enforcer Quincy Jones III posted a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds. Yi-Hsiang Chou had 14 points, while Yu-An Chiang made 13. Cheng Liu scored 12, while Po-Chen Chou and Long-Mao Hu added 11 and 10, respectively.
The team stats department saw a huge disparity, especially in rebounding, with Chinese Taipei out-rebounding Gilas 57-50. They also dished the ball better compared to Philippines, 11-8. Lastly, Chinese Taipei shot the ball better, hitting 27 shots out of 59 attempts. Gilas made only 37 percent of their shots, sinking 33 out of 89 tries.
Gilas end the group phase with a 0-2 slate, but will still move on to the second round of the tournament and are placed in Group E along Chinese Taipei, India, China, Jordan, and Kazahkstan. The second round will tip off tomorrow, Monday, September 12.
The Scores:
TPE (87) – Jones 19, Y. Chou 14, Chiang 13, Liu 12, P. Chou 11, Hu 10, P. Chou 8, Chien 0, Lee 0, Lin 0, Hu 0, Lee 0.
PHI (76) – Belo 17, Perez 15, Tolomia 11, Ferrer 11, Pogoy 7, Cruz 7, Daquioag 4, Van Opstal 2, Escoto 2, Javier 0, Pessumal 0, Gotladera 0.
Quarterscores: 24-17, 43-38, 62-62, 87-76.
