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

FIBA Asia U18:

China hammers Batang Gilas, 76-57

August 11, 2018 – Nonthaburi

FIBA Asia Under-18 News 2018: China hammered hard and avenged its eliminations loss to Batang Gilas, 76-57, in the Semifinals of 2018 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championships this Saturday In Nonthaburi Thailand. Kai Sotto led the defeated Pinoy five with his 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while AJ Edu added 14 markers and 8 rebounds.

Notes:

➤ The Filipinos fell to 4th place and failed to reach the podium as China raced to snatch the Bronze medal.

Wang Quanze led the pummeling for China with his 28 buckets, 14 boards and 4 assists.

➤ The Philippine basketball team defeat highlighted the inefficiency of the Batang Gilas bench which relied heavily on the contribution of stars Dalph Panopio, AJ Edu, Kai Sotto, Dave Ildefonso and Miguel Oczon

➤ RP five also had a bad shooting day as they only made 21 of 59 shots (36% fieldgoal) compared to China’s 31 of 68 clip (49%). China also moved the ball better as they finished with 20 assists compared to 7 by the Philippines.

 The 4th place finish remains to be the best in 28 years as the Pinoys last made it to 3rd place during the tournament’s 1990 staging.

 Batang Gilas is already assured of a place in the FIBA World Under-19 Championships in 2019 despite the painful loss to China.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 27-14, 43-26, 59-43, 76-57.

china: 76

Wang Q. 28, Xu 18, Li 9, Guo 8, Wang Y. 7, Jiang 7, Chen 0, Shi 0.

batang gilas: 57

Sotto 16, Edu 14, Ildefonso 9, Oczon 7, Panopio 5, Abadiano 2, Amsali 2, Cortez 2, Torres 0, Ramirez 0, Lina 0.

Posted on August 11, 2018 - Nonthaburi Thailand

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

FIBA Asia U18:

Australia halts Batang Gilas, 77-43

August 10, 2018 – Nonthaburi

FIBA Asia Under-18 News 2018: Australia halted Batang Gilas, 77-43, in the quarterfinals of 2018 FIBA Asia Championships this Friday evening in Nonthaburi Thailand. The Aussies limited the Philippines to only 43 points total and leveled the twin tower duo of AJ Edu and Kai Sotto to only single-digit points output. The suffocating full-court defense also disrupted the efficiency of the dribble drive offense of Batang Gilas.

Notes:

Samson Froling paced the Australian offensive juggernaut with his 12 buckets, 7 boards, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

➤ AJ Edu led the losing Filipinos with his 9 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Gerry Abadiano also added 8 markers.

➤ The fabulous trio of Kai Sotto, Dave Ildefonso and Dalph Panopio were limited to a dismal 11 points total output as they were hounded by the Australian defense all day long. It also didn’t help the Pinoy five cause as they converted only 16 of 65 shots for a 25% fieldgoal clip.

➤ Australia stole the ball 15 times compared to Philippine’s 2 steals total, and made 16 fastbreak points to RP’s 4 total.

Batang Gilas is now effectively out of the contention for the championship, but will later rematch with a pesky China squad led by Guo Hao Wen for the 3rd Place (Bronze medal) ballgame.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 14-12, 44-20, 60-28, 77-43.

australia: 77

Froling 12, Dalton 10, Stattman 10, Bowen 8, Gatbel 7, Lee 7, Robertson 7, Wigness 7, Leaupepe 6, Krause 3, Armstrong 0.

batang gilas: 43

Edu 9, Abadiano 8, Cortez 6, Torres 6, Ildefonso 5, Panopio 4, Oczon 3, Sotto 2, Amsali 0, Chiu 0, Lina 0, Ramirez 0.

Posted August 11, 2018 - Nonthaburi, Thailand

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

FIBA Asia U18:

Batang Gilas blitzes past Bahrain, 67-52

August 9, 2018 – Nonthaburi

FIBA Asia Under-18 News 2018: Batang Gilas blitzed past Bahrain, 67-52, in the 2018 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championships this Thursday at Nonthaburi, Thailand. Kai Sotto starred with his 21 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, while AJ Edu also contributed 16 markers, 17 boards, 3 assists and 2 swats.

Notes:

Miguel Andre Oczon also chipped-in 10 buckets for the young Pinoys.

Baqer Ali fought for the losing Bahrain five with 13 buckets and 3 caroms.

The Batang Gilas victory effectively earned them a spot in the FIBA Under-19 World Cup. It was in 1979 when the Philippine basketball team last made it to the prestigious cagefest.

➤ Additionally, the Filipinos placed 13th during the last FIBA World Cup Under-17 tournament.

➤ The young Filipino five will next face Australia this Friday, August 10. The Aussies ended their quarterfinals assignment by beating Japan, 88-52. The match-up will be particularly special, given the recent history of both national squads.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 20-11, 26-34, 48-45, 67-52.

batang gilas: 67

Sotto 21, Edu 16, Oczon 10, Ildefonso 6, Panopio 4, Abadiano 3, Ramirez 3, Amsali 2, Cortez 2, Chiu 0, Lina 0.

bahrain: 52

Ali, B. 13, Awadh 13, Rashed, M. 11, Rashed, A. 7, Dindayneh 2, Hamoda 2, Aboukuora 2, Kadhem 2, Ali, A. 0, Alrowaila 0, Al Koohiji 0, Nawaf 0.

Posted August 10, 2018 - Nonthaburi Thailand

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

FIBA Asia U18:

Batang Gilas bludgeons China, 73-63

August 7, 2018 – Nonthaburi

FIBA Asia Under-18 News 2018: Batang Gilas bludgeoned China, 73-63, in the 2018 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championships this Tuesday evening in Nonthaburi Thailand. Dave Ildefonso proved once more that his celebrated performance against Lebanon was no fluke as he powered Batang Gilas with his 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, while AJ Edu also contributed  a double-double of 13 markers and 14 boards.

Notes:

Dalph Panopio also contributed 12 buckets, while Kai Sotto dropped his own double-double of 11 points, 10 caroms and 4 blocks.

Haowen Guo paced the losing Chinese with 13 points and 6 rebounds.

➤ The young Gilas five are now assured of a quarterfinal slot in the tournament. They will either face Bahrain, South Korea or Chinese Taipei in the next round.

➤ The top four teams will be automatically included in the next year’s FIBA World U18 Championships.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 18-15, 31-27, 54-39, 73-63

batang gilas: 73

Ildefonso 18, Edu 13, Panopio 12, Sotto 11, Oczon 11, Torres 5, Abadiano 2, Cortez 1, Ramirez 0, Amsali 0, Lina 0, Chiu 0.

china: 63

Guo 24, Jiang Q 14, Wang Q 13, Xu 7, Jiang W 5, Shi 0, Li 0, Chen 0, Wang Y 0.

Posted August 8, 2018 - Nonthaburi, Thailand

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

FIBA Asia U18:

Batang Gilas destroys UAE, 92-49

August 6, 2018 – Nonthaburi

FIBA Asia Under-18 News 2018: Batang Gilas destroyed UAE, 92-49, in the FIBA Asia Under-18 Championships this Monday at  Nonthaburi Thailand. Twin Tower combination worked for the young GIlas as 6’10 AJ Edu dropped 16 points and 8 rebounds, while 7’1 Kai Sotto also contributed 14 markers and 8 boards.

Notes:

Rhyavan Amsali also added 13 buckets and 5 caroms for the Under-18 Pinoy five.

Mohamed Alhashmi powered the losing United Arab Emirates squad with 18 points and 3 rebounds.

Batang Gilas will next face China this Tuesday, August 7 at 6:45PM.

➤ The top 4 teams in this tournament will clinch a spot to play in next year’s 2019 FIBA World Under-19 Championships.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 29-14, 50-31, 69-44, 92-49.

batang gilas: 92

Edu 16, Sotto 14, Amsali 13, Torres 12, Panopio 7, Cortez 6, Lina 6, Abadiano 6, Ramirez 5, Oczon 3, Ildefonso 2.

uae: 49

Alhashmi 18, Albreiki 11, Hussein 8, Albloushi 4, Almaeeni 4, Alblooshi 4, M. Alhammadi 0, S. Alhammadi 0, Alhosani 0, Alketbi 0, AlSawan 0, Alteneiji 0.

August 7, 2018 - Nonthaburi, Thailand

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

FIBA Asia Under-18 News:

Batang Gilas cracks Lebanon, 75-53

August 5, 2018 – Nonthaburi

FIBA Asia Under-18 News 2018: Batang Gilas cracked Lebanon, 75-53, in the 2018 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship this Sunday in Nonthaburi, Thailand. Dave Ildefonso led the young Gilas five with his 19 big points, while Fil-Nigerian AJ Edu also contributed 17 markers, 12 caroms and 3 blocks.

Notes:

➤ Fil-Italian Dalph Panopio also chipped-in 12 buckets, 6 assists and 4 boards, while Kai Sotto added 12 points.

Alexander Zanbaka paced the losing Lebanese side with his 12 buckets and 5 boards.

The young Philippine squad had too much height against Lebanon, as they outrebounded their middle eastern counterpart, 61-36.

Batang Gilas will next square-off against UAE this Monday, August 6.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 25-15, 41-33, 59-41, 75-53.

batang gilas: 75

Ildefonso 19, Edu 17, Panopio 12, Sotto 12, Amsali 5, Ramirez 5, Cortez 2, Chiu 2, Abadiano 1, Lina 0, Oczon 0, Torres 0.

lebanon: 53

Zanbaka 12, Kopaly 9, Dargham 7, Kasab 6, Bedikian 6, Htait 5, Khoueiry 3, Khayat 2, Mougharbel 2, Saade 1, Karime 0, Samaha 0.

Posted August 6, 2018 - Nonthaburi, Thailand

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

FIBA World Cup Under-17:

Batang Gilas masters New Zealand, 73-51

July 9, 2018 – Santa Fe, Argentina

FIBA World Cup Under-17 News 2018: Batang Gilas humbled New Zealand, 73-51, and placed 13th overall in the 2018 FIBA World Cup Under-17 classification showdown this Monday in Santa Fe, Argentina. Towering 7’1 center Kai Sotto backstopped the young Gilas with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Notes:

➤ The 13th place finish of Batang Gilas is a new world record for the Philippines, as it finished 15th last 2014.

➤ Batang Gilas was on a hapless losing streak before defeating Egypt prior to Monday’s victory over New Zealand.

➤ No other Filipino player posted double digits in scoring aside from Sotto.

➤ Mitchell Dance led the losing Tall Blacks with 12 markers and 11 rebounds.

Game Scores:
Quarters: 16-12, 41-26, 54-36, 73-51.

batang gilas: 73

Sotto 22, Fortea 9, Abadiano 8, Calimag 8, Chiu 8, Guadana 7, Padrigao 4, Cortez 4, Andrada 0, Lazaro 0.

new zealand: 51

Dance 12, Broughton 10, Cowie 6, Williams-Dunn 6, Dixon 5, Vaigafa 5, Rissetto 4, McKinlay 3, Jenkins 0, Stodard 0, Payne 0.

July 9, 2018 - Santa Fe, Argentina

Written by Rock Punzalan for Philippine Basketball News Team

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