Montenegro just showed why the top 20 basketball nations are on a whole other plane compared to the rest of the world.
Gilas Pilipinas received a huge eye-opener on Sunday, absorbing a crushing 87-102 defeat at the hands of world No. 18 Black Mountains of Montenegro in the hosts’ penultimate tuneup game before the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 at Philsports Arena.
“I was surprised na dumikit tayo nang ganon,” said Gilas head coach Chot Reyes. “Ang lakas ng team na kinalaban natin.”
Two-time NBA All-Star Nikola Vucevic led the Montenegrin charge, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the third quarter. The Chicago big man also secured nine rebounds.
Gilas actually began the game on a positive note, leading 19-16 at the end of the first 10 minutes of action. They trailed by just two points, 42-44, thanks to the efforts of Jordan Clarkson and Dwight Ramos.
However, in the second quarter, the Montenegrin bench, led by Bojan Dubljevic and Vladimir Mihailovic, started to turn it up.
The second half belonged entirely to Montenegro, as they fired on all cylinders to establish a lead that grew to as much as 20 points, reaching 90-70.
Overall, Montenegro sank 10 of its 24 attempts from beyond the arc. On the other hand, the Philippines attempted only 15 shots from deep and connected on just a third of them.
Jordan Clarkson led the Philippines with 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 from the foul line. However, he also committed eight turnovers.
Both Clarkson and Vucevic were no longer fielded in the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Six-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo contributed 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, but foul trouble plagued him throughout the first three quarters while the defense already sagged late in the rout.
Ramos added 13 points, all of which came in the first half.
Though AJ Edu put up a commendable line of six points and eight rebounds, Kai Sotto went missing, going scoreless in 15 minutes of play.
In their previous game against Ivory Coast last Friday, Sotto and Edu combined for 22 points and 11 rebounds in an 85-62 victory.
Calvin Oftana also replaced Chris Newsome in the lineup for the game while Thirdy Ravena and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. remained as reserves.
Gilas will be facing the 31st-ranked team Mexico in their final tune-up on Monday.
Apart from Vucevic, Kendrick Perry also stepped up for the Black Mountain team, contributing 15 points and nine assists.
Dubljevic and Mihailovic added 16 and 12 points, respectively.
The Scores:
Montenegro 102 – Vucevic 18, Dubljevic 16, Perry 15, Mihailovic 12, Radovic 9, Radoncic 8, Ivanovic 7, Popovic 6, Slavkovic 5, Simonovic 4, Ilic 2, Drobnjak 0.
Philippines 87 – Clarkson 27, Fajardo 19, Ramos 13, Thompson 8, Edu 6, Aguilar 5, Abando 5, Malonzo 4, Sotto 0, Pogoy 0, Ravena 0, Perez 0, Oftana 0.
Quarterscores: 16-19, 44-42, 76-64, 102-87.
