The 20,000 strong in attendance at the SM Mall of Asia Arena cheered their lungs out for 40 straight minutes,
While the crowd helped give the National Team an added push, it was the depth of the French squad that proved to be the difference, as the Les Bleus withstood a gallant Philippine stand, 93-84, in Group B action in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Tuesday evening.
Andray Blatche led the Three Stars and the Sun with 21 points. Gunslinger Terrence Romeo dazzled as well with 19 markers, nine coming from downtown.
Gilas Pilipinas got off to a hot start as Andray Blatche scored quick 14 points to counter Tony Parker’s early jumpers. Gilas’ defense was also on point as France were forced into five turnovers that led the Philippines to cruise to a quick 10-point advantage. Bobby Ray Parks and Terrence Romeo, coming off the bench, were instrumental in the fiery start that gave Gilas an eight point edge.
Nando De Colo asserted himself in the second quarter, pulling the French troop to be only down by three, 32-29. The home team responded behind five straight points from Jayson Castro. However, scoring slowed down for Philippines as France’s defense picked up. Tony Parker caught fire late in the first half to give France a four-point lead just before Romeo knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to slice it in half.
Jeff Chan knocked down two triples to start the new half to revive the crowd momentarily. France, however, took control behind their ball movement that led to easy buckets for De Colo and Parker. The 2016 Euroleague MVP knocked down a triple followed by a breakaway slam by Kim Tillie to silence Gilas and, more importantly, provided France a 69-56 lead with 3:11 left in the third.
Gilas started to miss from the perimeter, which led to long transition counters for France. In addition to the miscues, Blatche was also assessed his fourth foul in the middle of the third. Entering the final quarter, France increased their lead to 11 at 77-66.
The French gained a 79-66 lead early in the final frame. Romeo, though, gained the hot hand as he lifted Gilas on his back and scored six straight points to spark the crowd. Baskets by Troy Rosario, Jayson Castro, and Gabe Norwood followed to eventually cut the French lead to just four, 85-81, with 3:09 remaining.
However, France easily converted from three straight miscues as the visitors tallied eight unanswered points to reinstall a dozen-point lead. The meltdown meant Gilas scored only three points in the final two minutes, leading to the demise of the Nationals.
Boris Diaw silenced the crowd, while Kim Tillie poured it on late to give the French the win.
Toronto Raptor Nando de Colo scored a game-high 27 points on an excellent 9-for-14 shooting clip. Tony Parker added 21 points, while Spurs teammate Boris Diaw filled up the stat sheets with nine points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
The French were without Nicolas Batum for the game.
Gilas shot six more triples compared to France but only had 11 compared to their opponent’s 18. France also forced Philippines into 18 turnovers and dominated the paint battle, 54-34.
Gilas Pilipinas (0-1) look to bounce back on Wednesday, July 6 as they face the idle New Zealand Tall Blacks. France (1-0) face the same opponent on Thursday, July 7.
The Scores:
France (93) – De Colo 27, Parker 21, Lauvergne 10, Tillie 10, Diaw 9, Gelabale 8, Diot 4, Kahudi 2, Heurtel 2, Kahudi 2, Pietrus 0, Moerman 0.
Philippines (84) – Blatche 21, Romeo 19, William 14, Chan 9, Rosario 6, Norwood 4, Parks 3, De Ocampo 3, Reyes 3, Pingris 2, Fajardo 0.
Quarterscores: 22-30, 45-43, 77-66, 93-84.
