Asian Qualifiers 2018:

Rumble at the Arena – Australia romps over Gilas, 89-53

July 2, 2018 – Bulacan Arena

FIBA Asian Qualifiers 2018 News: Australia romped over Gilas Pilipinas, 89-53, but the highlight of the World Cup 2019 qualifier this Monday at the Bulacan Philippine Arena was the all-out bench-clearing brawl between the Aussies and Filipinos. Roger Pogoy was at the center of the melee after an offensive play altercation with Christopher James Goulding. Consequently, Daniel Kickert retaliated with a sucker elbow and decked Pogoy that resulted to the chaotic court rumble. 

Notes:
James Goulding carried the Boomers with 23 points on 4 of 5 Three Point shooting (80% clip).

Andray Blatche led the losing Gilas with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

➤ The Filipinos later lost the game by default as it lost the majority of players due to ejection, and later the remaining players being disqualified due to fouls.

➤ The game was halted by the brawl in the third quarter with 04:01 remaining and Australia ahead big, 79-48. In all, nine Filipino players and four Aussies were ejected from the game. It was later continued with Pilipinas Basketball team being limited to only three players: June Mar Fajardo, Baser Amer, and Gabe Norwood.

Fajardo was saddled with early foul trouble and was limited to only 10 points.

➤ It was revealed by Coach Chot Reyes that Daniel Kickert was taunting and physically hitting Filipino players even during the shootaround warm-up period.

➤ Australia is now up with a 5-1 win-loss slate in the first round of the Qualifiers to top Group B while the Philippine basketball team settles for second with a 4-2 record. Both teams automatically advance to the second round together with third placer Japan beginning this September.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 23-18, 57-32, 89-53.

australia: 89

Goulding 20, Kickert 12, Dellavedova 9, Maker 8, Brandt 8, Lisch 7, Sobey 7, Kay 7, Gliddon 6, Drmic 5, McCarron 0, Cadee 0.

gilas pilipinas: 53

Blatche 12, Fajardo 10, Castro 8, Romeo 6, Aguilar 6, Norwood 4, Pogoy 4, Amer 3, Abueva 0, Wright 0, Rosario 0 .

July 3, 2018 - The Arena, Bulacan

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Pilipinas Basketball 2018:

Australia Boomers stops Gilas Pilipinas, 84-68

February 23, 2018 – Margaret Court Arena

Australia Boomers stops Gilas Pilipinas, 84-68

photo courtesy of FIBA

FIBA Asian Qualifiers 2019 World Cup News: Gilas Pilipinas failed to sustain an early first-half blitzkrieg as it fell to the towering Australia Boomers, 68-84, in the FIBA Asian Qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup yesterday Thursday at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne. Hot shooting Cameron Gliddon paced the Boomers with 16 points, while scrappy forward Mitch Creek contributed 12 markers and 11 caroms.

Notes:

Pilipinas Basketball is now down to a 2-1 win-loss slate in the continuing second window of the qualifiers.

Philippine Basketball Team held on to a proud 30-25 lead midway the second canto but the Boomers from the land down under answered with a fiery 12-2 run, catapulted by Nick Kay’s double treys, giving them the 37-32 lead before the half-time break.

➤ Australia continually pounded the hapless RP Five from the rainbow country as they built an insurmountable 18 point lead in the fourth quarter, 77-59.

➤ Gilas made a dismal showing in the free throw line as they missed 12 of 19 foul throws. Their field-goal percentage of 43.8 was hardly a factor throughout the ballgame as they also trailed in the rebounds department where the Aussies massacred them 50 to 30.

“The Kraken” June Mar Fajardo led the losing Filipinos with 15 buckets, while Matthew Wright added 9 goals. Naturalized player Andray Blatche ran out of steam as he only managed to drop 8 points and 7 rebounds in 25 minutes.

Gilas Pilipinas will next face rival Japan NT (Akatsuki Five) on February 25 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

➤ Filipino: FIBA Asian Qualifiers 2019 World Cup Balita • Hindi umubra ang paunang bulusok ng Gilas Pilipinas matapos itong pabagsakin ng Australia Boomers, 68-84, sa FIBA Asian Qualifiers para sa 2019 World Cup kahapon ng Huwebes sa Margaret Court Arena sa Melbourne. Tumikada para sa Boomers si Cameron Gliddon sa kanyang16 puntos, maging ang forward na si Mitch Creek ay nagtala ng 12 buslo at 11 rebounds.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 19-19, 37-32, 63-49, 84-68.

australia boomers: 84

Gliddon 16, Brandt 13, Creek 12, Lisch 12, Kay 7, Hodgson 6, Kickert 5, Norton 4, Wagstaff 4, Cadee 2, Sobey 2, McCarron 1.

gilas pilipinas: 68

Fajardo 15, Wright 9, Blatche 8, Pogoy 8, Norwood 7, Ravena 6, Alas 6, Abueva 5, Aguilar 2, Tratter 2, Cruz 0, Malicsi 0.

Posted on February 23, 2018 - Margaret Court Arena - Melbourne

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Pilipinas Basketball 2018:

Gilas Pilipinas faces Australia Boomers sans Castro

February 21, 2018 – Manila

Gilas Pilipinas faces Australia Boomers sans Castro
photo courtesy of FIBA
FIBA Asian Qualifiers 2019 World Cup News: Gilas Pilipinas will battle a full strength Australia Boomers tomorrow Thursday minus ace Filipino Jayson Castro William. Castro recently injured his ankle during a game with Talk N Text KaTropa against Phoenix Fuel Masters last February 7 in the PBA. Kiefer Ravena and Kevin Alas will have to shoulder the pointguard duties for the FIBA Asian Qualifiers to the 2019 World Cup as Jio Jalalon was also relegated to the reserved list.

Notes:

➤ “As of yesterday, he (Castro) tried to go hard in last night’s practice and still, he was not there at all so we decided it wasn’t worth the risk. So Jayson is going to sit out together with Jio (Jalalon), who is also feeling a slight pain in his legs. We decided to play the guys not experiencing any nagging injuries at this point,” confirmed Reyes via Sports5 Facebook live video stream.

➤ The absence of “The Blur” Castro, once the Best Point Guard of Asia, leaves a big hole to the campaign of the Philippine Basketball team. His innate ability to slash and penetrate inside opponent defense will surely be missed. “The Phenom” Kiefer Ravena will have to bring in his bag of tricks to make up for the loss of Castro. He will have to team-up with point veteran Kevin Alas to steer Pilipinas Basketball as Jio Jalalon will also sit out due to injury.

➤ Meanwhile, “The Beast” Calvin Abueva is back to the Gilas fold as head coach Chot Reyes gave the green light to the fiery Kapampangan forward to return to the RP Five lineup. Abueva was previously axed from the roster together with beanpole Raymund Almazan after missing the Gilas first three practices. Nevertheless, Calvin proved his worth to the team as he attended the subsequent training sessions even without the assurance of inclusion.

➤ Coach Chot announced the reentry of Abueva as Troy Rosario and Mac Belo were placed on the reserved list also due to injuries. “Since then, even he (Abueva) knew he was not going to be in the final 12 for the second window, he never missed any practice, he did what we asked of him, whether as a practice player or member of the scouting team,” Reyes said.

➤ Gilas Pilipinas full line-up includes Andray Blatche, June Mar Fajardo, Abu Tratter, Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Alas, Matthew Wright, Roger Pogoy, Japeth Aguilar, Calvin Abueva, Allein Maliksi, Gabe Norwood and Carl Bryan Cruz.

Filipino: FIBA Asian Qualifiers 2019 World Cup Balita • Babanggain ng Gilas Pilipinas ang buong puwersa ng Australia Boomers bukas ng Huwebes ng hindi kasama ang pambatong si Jayson Castro William. Na-injure kamakailan sa gulugod si Castro matapos maglaro para sa Talk N Text Katropa noon Pebrero 7 kontra Phoenix Fuel Masters sa PBA. Dahil dito ay magtitimon na sina Kiefer Ravena at Kevin Alas bilang pointguards ng koponang pambansa ng Pilipinas sa FIBA Asian Qualifiers tungo sa 2019 World Cup, matapos na si Jio Jalalon ay mauwi rin sa injury.

Posted on February 21, 2018 - Manila

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

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