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Home ➤ Pilipinas Basketball News ➤ Dominican Republic edges out valiant Gilas Pilipinas, 87-81

FIBA World Cup 2023:

Dominican Republic edges out valiant Gilas Pilipinas, 87-81

August 25, 2023 – Philippine Arena

by Rock Punzalan
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

Home ➤ Pilipinas Basketball News ➤ FIBA World Qualifiers 2018: Depleted Iran flattens Guiao-led Gilas, 78-70

FIBA World Qualifiers 2018:

Depleted Iran flattens Guiao-led Gilas, 78-70

December 3, 2018 – Mall of Asia Arena
by Rock Punzalan
Australia Boomers stops Gilas Pilipinas, 84-68
photo courtesy of FIBA

FIBA World Qualifiers News 2018: A depleted Iran NT flattened the Gilas Pilipinas squad coached by Yeng Guiao, 78-70 in the fifth window of the 2018 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers this Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena. Gilas lost to a weakened Iranian five without its’ main stars Hamed Haddadi and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami.

Notes:

➤ Iran’s Mohammad Jamshidi pummeled Gilas with 26 big buckets, with 20 coming off the 4th quarter combined with 7 assists while guard Behnam Yakhchali poured 21 points and 7 boards.

➤ The Filipinos squandered the sure chance to qualify for the World Cup as it fell to fourth place with a 5-5 slate, just below Japan. They need to win their two remaining games and hope that the Hayabusa Five loses at least a game to even out the rankings. Only the top-three teams will qualify for the FIBA Worlds and the Philippines may now need a miracle to advance.

➤ Home-court advantage did not work wonders for RP Five this time around, as Guiao’s system is yet to be proven effective in international tournaments. To sum it all up: Gilas was relegated to fifth place in the recent Asian Games with Jordan Clarkson in tow, lost to a mediocre Kazakhstan team without a legitimate star, and fell twice to an Iranian team that never fielded the behemoth Hamed Haddadi.

➤ If there was any consolation for Guiao, it was the extremely short preparation time of Gilas. This resulted to a disjointed team pitted against Asia’s powerhouse squads with less than a decade of team chemistry. However, Yeng could have opted to field-in the battle-tested Gilas five, but chose to play with an untested roster of mostly aging cagers instead.

➤ Compounding the Gilas hullabaloo was the preposterous exclusion of vital cog Andray Blatche. The former New Jersey Nets center would have terrorized Iran and Kazakhstan in the paint and be unstoppable from the perimeter. Blatche’s defense also would have been a lethal weapon for Gilas, but his unceremonial ejection from the roster proved fatal for the Filipinos.

➤ Meanwhile, Jayson Castro, who just back from FIBA suspension, powered Gilas with 19 markers and 5 caroms while Christian Standhardinger finished with 17 points and 8 boards.

➤ The Philippine basketball team will next face Qatar and Kazakhstan in the sixth window both in away games to continue Gilas’ journey in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 19-20, 35-39, 50-54, 78-70.

iran nt: 78

Jamshidijafarabadi 26, Yakhchalidehkordi 21, Mirzaeitalarposhti 11, Arghavan 8, Hassanzadeh 7, Mozafarivanani 3, Hosseizadeh 2, Sedighi 0, Davoudichegani 0, Torabi 0, Rezaeifar 0.

gilas pilipinas: 70

Castro William 19, Standhardinger 17, Lassiter 12, Fajardo 8, Wright 4, Belga 3, Rosario 3, Santos 2, Aguilar 2, Tenorio 0, Norwood 0, Thompson 0.

Posted on December 4, 2018 - Mall of Asia Arena

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Home ➤ Pilipinas Basketball News ➤ FIBA World Qualifiers 2018: Disaster as Gilas falls to lowly Kazakhstan NT

FIBA World Qualifiers 2018:

Disaster as Gilas falls to lowly Kazakhstan NT

November 30, 2018 – Mall of Asia Arena
by Rock Punzalan

FIBA World Qualifiers News 2018: It was a disaster for Philippine basketball as Gilas Pilipinas fell to lowly Kazakhstan NT, 92-88 in the continuation of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers this Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena. The unnerving defeat relegated RP Five to 4th place in Group F and in danger of elimination, losing to a mediocre squad with a four-game losing streak.

Notes:

➤ Stanley Pringle led the losing Gilas with 29 points, while center Junemar Fajardo had 14 points and 13 caroms.

➤ The gamble of Coach Yeng Guiao to utilize an untested roster resulted to the shock loss, with the bigs being unable to defend well in the perimeter. It only highlighted the absence of dominant and mobile big man Andray Blatche, whom Guiao conspicuously left out of the roster. Blatche’s mobility would have given Kazakhstan nightmares. Also absent were Jayson Castro and Troy Rosario who are both serving their FIBA suspensions.

➤ Christian Stanhardinger is also set to replace Pringle as the lone naturalized player in the Pinoy lineup.

➤ Kazakhstan’s Alexander Zhigulin was virtually unstoppable from the three-point territory, converting 6 treys to finish with a total of 30 points, while Anton Bykov added 20 buckets and 9 boards.

➤ The Kazakhstan five is virtually the same squad whom the Pinoys handily beat time and again in countless international tourneys. Worst, they are missing the services of their star player Anton Ponomarev who reportedly begged-off to concentrate in professional basketball.

➤ The Philippine Basketball Team is now tied with Japan NT with identical 5-4 win-loss slate. They must win all their remaining games against Iran, Qatar, and Kazakhstan or risk getting booted out of the qualifiers.

➤ The Filipinos will next battle Iran NT for a do-or-die rematch on Monday, December 3.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 17-18, 40-39, 65-62, 92-88

kazakhstan nt: 92

Zhigulin 30, Bykov 20, Yergali 12, Murzagaliyev 11, Kuanov 8, Bazhin 7, Marchuk 4, Gavrilov 0, Lapchenko 0, Chsherbak 0.

gilas pilipinas: 88

Pringle 29, Fajardo 14, Lassiter 13, Tenorio 8, Norwood 7, Thompson 6, Wright 5, Aguilar 4, Erram 2, Slaughter 0, Belga 0, Cabagnot 0.

Posted on December 1, 2018 - Mall of Asia Arena

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Home ➤ Pilipinas Basketball News ➤ FIBA World Qualifiers 2018: Guiao names Gilas Final 12 versus Kazakhstan

FIBA World Qualifiers 2018

Guiao names Gilas Final 12 versus Kazakhstan

November 28, 2018

by Rock Punzalan

FIBA World Qualifiers News 2018: Coach Yeng Guiao finalized the Gilas Pilipinas Final 12 that will battle Kazakhstan in the fifth window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers this Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Philippines is currently ranked 3rd in the heap with a 5-3 slate, while the Kazakhs are at fifth with a 3-5 record.

Notes:

➤ The Filipinos will not have a legitimate naturalized player as Guiao opted to not include NBA veteran and Gilas mainstay Andray Blatche in the fifth window roster. Blatche is also coming off the suspension sanctioned by FIBA to Gilas players after the infamous RP-Australia brawl.

➤ The magic twelve of Guiao includes PBA behemoths Junemar Fajardo, Greg Slaughter, Poy Erram and Japeth Aguilar. The guard rotation will have Stanley Pringle, LA Tenorio, Alex Cabagnot and Scottie Thompson. Rounding-up the cast will be forwards Gabe Norwood, Matthew Wright, Marcio Lassiter, and Beau Belga.

➤ Out of the final line-up were Jayson Castro and Troy Rosario, both serving FIBA suspensions, and Ricci Rivero, Kai Sotto, Ian Sangalang, Paul Lee, Arwind Santos, and Christian Stanhardinger.

➤ Guiao also stated that Stanhardinger will be the likely naturalized player for the next game against Iran. Pringle and Stanhardinger are considered naturalized due to a FIBA residency ruling despite both being legitimate Filipinos.

➤ The Pinoys are in a must-win situation against Kazakhstan as they are in a precarious third place spot in the qualifiers. A loss may put them behind Qatar or Japan, who are both trailing behind at 4th place. Only the first three qualifiers from Asia will advance to the World Cup 2019.

Posted on November 29, 2018

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Home ➤ Pilipinas Basketball News ➤ Philippine Basketball 2018: Lebanon overpowers Gilas, 71-60

Philippine Basketball 2018:

Lebanon overpowers Gilas, 71-60

November 25, 2018 – Meralco Gym

by Rock Punzalan

Philippine Basketball News 2018: Lebanon national team overpowered Gilas Pilipinas, 71-60 once again to leave the Filipinos win-less in their tuneup games against the Western Asian power as buildup for the FIBA World Qualifiers at the Meralco Gym this Sunday.

Notes:

➤ Pilipinas ended its’ campaign with a 1-3 win-loss record, absorbing two losses against the Lebanese while breaking even with the Jordanians.

➤ RP Five will face Kazakhstan this Friday, November 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena in continuation of their FIBA World Qualifiers series.

Posted on November 25, 2018 - Meralco Gym

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Home ➤ Pilipinas Basketball News ➤ Philippine Basketball 2018: Lebanon subdues Gilas, 74-68

Philippine Basketball 2018:

Lebanon subdues Gilas, 74-68

November 23, 2018 – Epsilon Chi Center, UP Diliman

by Rock Punzalan

Philippine Basketball News 2018: Lebanon national team subdued Gilas Pilipinas, 74-68 to take Game 1 of their tuneup game for the FIBA World Qualifiers this Friday at Epsilon Chi Center in UP Diliman. Ali Haidar led the Lebanese side with his 20 buckets, while Ater Majok had 13 markers.

Notes:

➤ Pilipinas basketball team managed to trim the gap from 19 points deficit to a single digit at 59-60, courtesy of an Arwind Santos layup, but the Lebanese side kept their composure en route to victory.

➤ Japeth Aguilar led the Filipinos with his 16 points as San Miguel duo of Marcio Lassiter and Junemar Fajardo also finished with 13 and 9 points each.

➤ Missing from the action are the other members of Gilas pool which includes Christian Stanhardinger, Kai Sotto, Scottie Thompson, Alex Cabagnot and Beau Belga.

➤ Gilas and Lebanon will face each other once more for Game 2 this Sunday.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 20-16, 44-28, 57-55, 74-68

lebanon: 74

Haidar 20, Majok 13, Saoud 10, Abdel Nour 9, Bawji 6, Mehzer 5, Rustom 4, Akl 3, Ibrahim 2, Fares 0, Khalil 0, Tabet 0.

gilas pilipinas: 68

Aguilar 16, Lassiter 11, Fajardo 9, Santos 6, Rosario 5, Tenorio 4, Slaughter 4, Pringle 4, Lee 3, Wright 3, Rivero 2, Thompson 1, Erram 0, Castro 0.

Posted on November 24, 2018 - Epsilon Chi Center, UP Diliman

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Home ➤ PBA News ➤ PBA 2018: Meralco mauls San Miguel, 111-81

PBA 2018:

Meralco mauls San Miguel, 111-81

November 3, 2018 – Araneta Coliseum

by Rock Punzalan

PBA News 2018: Meralco Bolts mauled the San Miguel Beermen, 111-81 in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup this Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum. Import Allen Durham led the Bolts with freakish 35 points, 26 boards, and 7 dimes, while power veteran Reynel Hugnatan turned back father time to contribute 19 points and 6 caroms.

Notes:

➤ Chris Newsome also chipped-in 14 points and 12 assists, while diminutive point guard Baser Amer added 12 buckets and 10 assists.

➤ Import Kevin Murphy starred for the losing Beermen with his 32 points and 10 rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot had 16 points for SMB who saw their four-game winning streak unceremoniously halted.

➤ The Bolts are now in the hunt for the last quarterfinals slot as they await the outcome of the last game of Talk ‘ N Text KaTropa who’s now at 4-6. Meralco won its’ last 4 games and is holding a 5-6 win-loss slate. San Miguel dropped to a 6-5 record but is assured of a quarterfinals slot despite the loss.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 26-25, 44-49, 78-66, 111-81.

meralco: 111

Durham 35, Hugnatan 19, Newsome 14, Amer 12, Hodge 9, Canaleta 8, Salva 6, Faundo 2, Jamito 0, Tolomia 0, Bono 0.

san miguel: 81

Murphy 32, Cabagnot 16, Santos 11, Lassiter 8, Standhardinger 6, Pessumal 5, Nabong 2, Fajardo 1, Rosser 0, Ross 0, Vigil 0, Heruela 0.

Posted on November 4, 2018 - Araneta Coliseum - Quezon City

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

PBA 2018:

Blackwater cuffs San Miguel, 103-100

September 5, 2018 – Araneta Coliseum

by Rock Punzalan

PBA News 2018: Blackwater Elite cuffed the San Miguel Beermen, 103-100 this Wednesday in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. Import Henry Walker led the Elite’s stunning victory with his impressive 35 buckets, 17 boards and 7 steals, while local Mike Digregorio chipped-in 21 markers.

Notes:

➤ Nard Pinto also made 15 points and 9 caroms, while Poy Erram added a respectable 10 goals and 9 rebounds haul for the Elite.

➤ The losing Beermen got consolation from reinforcement AZ Reid who dropped 26 markers and 12 boards, while bullish Fil-German Christian Standhardinger contributed 20 points.

➤ San Miguel did not have reigning MVP Junemar Fajardo who is nursing a shin injury. Blackwater meanwhile, had Erram making his return to the PBA after playing for the national team in the Asian Games.

➤ SMB fell down to a 1-1 win-loss record, while Blackwater improved to 2-1 in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 27-25, 43-46, 74-82, 103-100.

blackwater: 103

Walker 35, Digregorio 21, Pinto 15, Erram 10, Zamar 8, Maliksi 6, Jose 4, Al-Hussani 2, Belo 2, Sumang 0, Cortez 0.

san miguel: 100

Reid 26, Standhardinger 20, Lassiter 13, Nabong 12, Cabagnot 12, Heruela 7, Ross 6, Santos 4.

Posted on September 6, 2018 - Araneta Coliseum Quezon City

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Home ➤ PBA News ➤ PBA Finals 2018: Ginebra crowned Champions, blasts SMB, 93-77

PBA Finals 2018:

Ginebra crowned Champions, blasts SMB, 93-77

August 8, 2018 – SM MOA Arena

by Rock Punzalan

PBA Finals News 2018: Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings were crowned PBA Champions as they blasted the Ssn Miguel Beermen, 93-77, in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals this Friday evening at the SM MOA Arena. Justin Brownlee lifted the Gin Kings to the podium with his monstrous 31 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals, while “Gregzilla” Greg Slaughter also contributed 13 markers and 9 boards.

Notes:

➤ Scottie Thompson who was named the Finals MVP of the Commissioner’s Cup, dropped 12 buckets, 13 caroms and 5 assists.

➤ Junemar Fajardo led the dispirited Beermen with with his 29 goals, while temperamental import Renaldo Balkman hoarded 24 points. Balkman also hurt his ankle before the half ended.

➤ Barangay Ginebra ended the Grand Slam hopes of SMB who won the last two PBA championships.

➤ The Gin Kings finished the Finals series at 4-2 slate.

➤ 20,490 fans crowded the SM MOA Arena

➤ Coach Tim Cone won his 21st PBA title overall, and 3rd as Ginebra coach.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 14-17, 35-38, 62-46, 93-77.

ginebra: 93

Brownlee 31, Slaughter 13, Thompson 12, Tenorio 11, Chan 10, Mercado 6, Ferrer 5, Devance 4, J. Aguilar 1.

san miguel: 77

Fajardo 29, Balkman 24, Heruela 11, Cabagnot 6, Santos 5, Pessumal 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0, Rosser 0, Vigil 0, Standhardinger 0.

Posted August 9, 2018 - SM MOA Arena Pasay

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

Home ➤ PBA News ➤ PBA FInals 2018: Ginebra defies San Miguel, 87-83, seizes Game 5

PBA FInals 2018:

Ginebra defies San Miguel, 87-83, seizes Game 5

August 5, 2018 – Araneta Coliseum

by Rock Punzalan

PBA Finals 2018 News: Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings defied the San Miguel Beermen, 87-83, and seized Game 5 in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup this Sunday evening at the Araneta Coliseum. Scottie Thompson led the Gin Kings to a 3-2 lead with his magnificent double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds on 7 of 12 field-goal clip, while Justin Brownlee also contributed 18 markers, 9 boards and 4 assists.

Notes:

➤Thompson also scored 6 straight clutch points with 1:07 remaining to lift Ginebra into victory.

➤ LA Tenorio also contributed 15 buckets and 5 assists, while Greg Slaughter had a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.

➤ Temperamental reinforcement Renaldo Balkman fought for the losing SMB with his 34 buckets and 20 caroms, while Junemar Fajardo also added 23 points and 11 rebounds.

➤ Barangay Ginebra had four players in double figures. The Gin Kings shot 34 of 79 (43%FG) from the field while SMB had 33 of 87 (37%FG).

➤ Ginebra may seek to end the series or San Miguel may win anew to set-up a do-or-die, when they battle each other once more in Game 6 this Wednesday at the SM MOA Arena.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 24-26, 40-40, 66-66, 87-83.

ginebra: 87

Thompson 20, Brownlee 18, Tenorio 15, Slaughter 13, Devance 8, Aguilar 8, Chan 15, Mercado 0, Cruz 0, Ferrer 0.

san miguel: 83

Balkman 34, Fajardo 23, Lassiter 13, Cabagnot 5, Ross 3, Standhardinger 3, Santos 2, Nabong 0.

Posted August 5, 2018 - Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

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