FIBA World Cup 2023:

Dominican Republic edges out valiant Gilas Pilipinas, 87-81

August 25, 2023 – Philippine Arena

Dominican Republic edges out valiant Gilas Pilipinas, 87-81
player photo courtesy of FIBA
FIBA World Cup 2023: BOCAUE, Bulacan – Gilas Pilipinas put up a valiant fight but fell short in their first game of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, losing 87-81 to the Dominican Republic in front of a record-breaking crowd of 38,115 at the Philippine Arena.

➤ NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns led the charge for the Dominican Republic, scoring 26 points and hauling in 10 boards, while guard Victor Liz had 18 points and 6 rebounds. Philippine NBA star Jordan Clarkson put up an impressive 28 points for the Gilas with 7 rebounds and 7 assists, while PBA legend Junemar Fajardo contributed 16 points and hauled in 7 rebounds.

➤ The Philippine basketball team led in rebounds, hauling 32 total to the Dominicans 26, but DR massacred them on the offensive boards, with the Dominicans enjoying a 17 to 3 advantage. The Dominicans also exploited Pilipinas basketball’s turnovers, scoring 26 off 19 Gilas turnovers, and fared better in second-chance points, making 15 against 2 of the Philippines.

➤ Both teams were evenly matched throughout the game, but it ultimately turned into a rivalry between the NBA’s finest. Despite Clarkson’s monstrous 28-point effort, he fouled out in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, with Karl-Anthony Towns prevailing over him. Gilas was down 79-76 with only 3:32 remaining when he was disqualified for an offensive foul. It came after several questionable calls that hurt Gilas’ chances. In contrast, despite having shooting woes all night, Towns made most of his charity lane freebies, making 15 of 16 freethrow attempts.

➤ AJ Edu made a good account for himself, making a lot of key defensive stops to limit the effectiveness of Towns, while Kiefer Ravena also fared well in the minutes he was on the court, as did Dwight Ramos, who backstopped Gilas with 13 big points.

➤ The Gilas Pilipinas basketball team will next face a dangerous Angola squad that caused an early scare in their first-game loss to powerhouse Italy, 67-81. The tip-off between Group A rivals begins this Sunday at the Philippine Arena.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 22-18; 42-42; 66-64; 87-81.

dominican republic nt: 87

Towns 26, Liz 18, Feliz 12, Montero 6, Delgado 6, Peña 5, Vargas 5, Figueroa 5, Mendoza 2, Quiñones 2, Solano 0, Suero DNP.

gilas pilipinas: 81

Clarkson 28, Fajardo 16, Ramos 13, Edu 7, Pogoy 6, Thompson 5, Ravena 2, Abando 2, Aguilar 2, Sotto 0, Malonzo 0, Perez DNP.

Posted on August 26, 2023 - Philippine Arena

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

FIBA OQT 2021:

Serbia survives Gilas Pilipinas scare, 83-76

June 30, 2021 – Belgrade, Serbia

Australia Boomers stops Gilas Pilipinas, 84-68
photo courtesy of FIBA

FIBA OQT News 2021: Serbia survived the gallant stand of Gilas Pilipinas, 83-76, this Wednesday at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia. The game was dangerously close at crunch time as Gilas stole the lead, 73-74, with 3:50 left in the ballgame, but NBA star Boban Marjanovic’s clutch buckets towed the Serbs past the fighting Filipinos.

➤ Marjanovic powered the Serbs with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Ognjen Dobric netted 16 points – with 12 coming from three-point shots. Gilas Pilipinas, on the other hand, relied on Ange Kouame’s 17 points and 7 boards.

➤ Three Filipinos contributed double digit buckets with Jordan Heading, Kai Sotto, and Justine Baltazar netting 13, 10, and 10 respectively.

➤ Serbia led big late in the game with a 61-47 advantage in the third quarter. Gilas, however, clawed back to tie the game in the 4th with a 67-67 score. Pilipinas could have taken the game in clutch after taking the lead 73-74, but failed to capitalize due to several miscues and missed offensive attempts.

➤ Serbia led in field goals with a 54% clip, while Gilas had 47%. The Serbs also dominated in the paint with 46 points against Gilas’ 28.

➤ Pilipinas missed the services of its main star and scorer Dwight Ramos due to groin injury, while Serbia did not play Nemanja Bjelica due to a leg injury.

➤ It is worth noting that the Filipinos are bannered by collegiate and some high-school standouts with an average age of 22, while the Serbs are represented by NBA and Euro-League veterans.

➤ Serbian Pro League MVP Filip Petrusev admitted that Serbia had a hard time matching-up against the Filipinos as he stated, “(Kouame and Sotto) gave us a hard time, especially without Bjelica out there on the court. We were forced to play a bit small than usual, and they attacked us especially from the four spot. They are talented, no question – and they gave us their all.”

➤ Philippines will next battle Dominican Republic this Thursday to stay alive in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. 

Game Scores:
Quarters: 22-16, 45-34, 67-62, 83-76.

serbia nt: 83

Marjanovic 25, Dobric 16, Teodosic 13, Andjusic 12, Petrusev 8, Davidovac 5, Jovic 2, Milosavljevic 2, Avramovic 0.

gilas pilipinas: 76

Kouame 17, Heading 13, Sotto 10, Baltazar 10, Abarrientos 9, Tamayo 5, Navarro 4, Go 4, Nieto 2, Belangel 2, Chiu 0, .

Posted on June 30, 2021 - Alexander Nicolic Hall

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers:

Gilas Pilipinas repeats over South Korea, 82-77

June 20, 2021 – Clark, Pampanga

Australia Boomers stops Gilas Pilipinas, 84-68
photo courtesy of FIBA

FIBA Asia Cup News 2021: Gilas Pilipinas five repeated over defiant South Korea, 82-77, to sweep the first round of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers this Sunday at the Angeles University Foundation Gym. This is the second win of the Filipinos against South Korea after their first match last Wednesday.

Notes:

➤ Dwight Ramos backstopped Gilas with 19 big buckets and 5 assists with five of nine treys made. Kai Sotto, RJ Abarrientos and Jordan Heading likewise contributed 10 points apiece to power the young Gilas squad.

➤ The Filipinos were on-fire from the rainbow country as they made 14 out of 37 three point bombs for a 38% clip. The game was close all throughout up until the last minute but the national’s firepower proved too much for the feisty Koreans.

➤ The game had some sort of personal rift as Korea’s coach Sang Hyun Cho mentioned last Wednesday that the first Gilas victory came courtesy of a “lucky” three point shot. SJ Belangel dropped that dagger trey to seal the nail-biter victory for the Pinoys. Obviously, Gilas mentor Tab Baldwin was none too happy and stated that the next game will not be as friendly.

➤ Meanwhile, South Korea relied on reinforcement Ra Guna who made 20 points and 13 boards, while Lee Hyunjung added 13 buckets and 8 rebounds.

➤ Pilipinas Basketball will reportedly face China NT in a practice game at the Clark bubble in preparation for their upcoming Serbia Olympic Qualifiers this month.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 20-18, 38-34, 56-54, 82-77.

gilas pilipinas: 82

Ramos 19, Sotto 10, Abarrientos 10, Heading 10, Navarro 8, Kouame 7, Baltazar 6, Belangel 6, Go 6, Nieto 6, Chiu 0, Tungcab 0.

South Korea NT: 77

Ra 20, Lee H. 13, Yang 12, Lee D. 9, Lee S. 8, Kim 8, Jeon 3, Byeon 2, Yeo 2, Ha 0, Moon 0, Kang 0.

Posted on June 20, 2021 - Angeles University Foundation Gym

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

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