Gilas Pilipinas trailed big early before fighting back in the fourth quarter although it fell short against host country Estonia, 80-90 during its second match in the Toyota Four Nations Cup Saturday morning.
Estonia relied on its outside sniping, draining 14-for-34 from three-point area. With the help of those long bombs, the team built a 33-17 lead in the first quarter and never went threatened until the fourth when Gilas launched a 13-3 run that cut the deficit to 70-81.
A triple by Terrence Romeo made it 77-86 with only over 2 minutes left, but it was the closest the nationals can get as time ran out.
The nationals shot 8-for-27 from downtown, an improvement from their 4-for-23 last night. Hontiveros and Jayson Castro made two triples apiece.
JC Intal, Dondon Hontiveros, and Moala Tautuaa all suited up for Gilas too this time around.
Andray Blatche topscored for Gilas with 16 points and added 5 rebounds while Castro added 13 points.
Janar Talts led the home team with 20 points including 4-for-5 from deep while three others finished in double-digits.
The Scores:
Gilas Pilipinas 80 – Blatche 16, Castro 13, Romeo 10, Abueva 8, Ganuelas-Rosser 8, Hontiveros 8, Rosario 6, Intal 3, Norwood 2, Tautuaa 2, Taulava 2, Thoss 2.
Quarterscores: 33-18, 55-35, 77-57, 90-80
