More than gaining experience, Gilas Pilipinas Men got added inspiration during their second tuneup against Ukraine’s youth team.
The Philippine men’s national basketball team played better compared to their game against the same team on early Sunday morning (Manila time), picking up an 84-74 win over Ukraine’s under-20 squad on Monday in Kaunas, Lithuania.
But what happened after the game was much more important as Gilas heads to the final stretch for their preparations for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
After the game, Gilas huddled at center-court.
Reyes then invited 19-year-old Liev Koshevatskyi to share his experience back home.
Ukraine is currently in a war against Russia, which is trying to annex their country.
After the game, a player from Ukraine was asked to share his story about how basketball continues even with what’s going on back home. pic.twitter.com/oSWA3d9eiG
— Carlo Pamintuan (@carlo_pamintuan) July 2, 2023
During the game itself, Gilas were able to pull away in the third canto, turning a 45-42 lead into a 69-60 cushion.
CJ Perez scored 12 of his 14 points in the first three quarters.
June Mar Fajardo and Dwight Ramos then took charge in the final frame to secure the victory.
Fajardo and Ramos both ended up with nine points apiece with the former going 4-of-5 from the field.
Justin Brownlee led the way for Gilas with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Oleksandr Kobzystyi finished with 15 points for Ukraine while Mykhailo Bublyk added 14 markers.
