TOKYO – Throwing bricks at the finish, Smart Gilas Pilipinas squandered an eight-point lead in a heartbreaking 68-71 loss to a youthful China team in Day One of the fourth FIBA Asia Cup at the Ota City Gymnasium here Friday.
The Nationals went on a dry spell in a crucial five-minute stretch in the fourth quarter and missed four three-point attempts in the last 32 seconds in a sputtering finish, allowing the Chinese to steal the game.
“I thought we played hard against this very good and very tall young Chinese team. We got our
chances but we blew them,” rued Smart Gilas coach Chot Reyes.
“We couldn’t make our free throws and that’s the story of the game. We missed them and we
lost. Hopefully we learn from this and we make our free throws in the next games,” added Reyes
whose players bungled 10 of 24 charities.
He failed to mention their equally woeful field shooting – getting worst in the last seven minutes that caused them to blow away an eight-point lead at 64-56.
Momentum shifted back and forth, but stayed with the Chinese after they unleashed a decisive run to surge ahead at 67-64.
“It was an excellent game. We know the Filipinos are good but we beat them in the end, and it’s
a good experience for our young players,” said Chinese coach Fan Bin, having at his disposal a
young but aggressive, fighting unit led by three seven-foot giants.
Dillinger, however, hurt his right knee moments later, and Gilas’ downfall subsequently followed.
“He (Dillinger) asked to be taken out and, in the end, I stayed with the five (Marcus Douthit, LA Tenorio, Gary David, Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood) that had been very effective all throughout with me. Apparently, it was a wrong decision,” said Reyes.
The Filipinos crashed back to earth after soaring high with their Jones Cup championship in Taipei while the Chinese somehow soothed the anguish of their Olympic debacle in London.
Chan, David and Tenorio missed four open three-point shots in the last 32 seconds, and the Chinese whooped it up to celebrate their triumphant Asia Cup debut.
Overall, the Nationals converted just six of 35 three-point attempts, going 1-of-13 in the final
canto.
Reyes and his troops face another acid test in going up against Lebanon at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. Manila
time) Saturday.
The Chinese went roaring with gunner Zhao Tailong, point guard Guo Ailun and big men Yu Changdong and Wu Ke in the homestretch, regaining the upperhand at 67-64.
After Douthit failed to complete a three-point play, Zhao came through with a clutch basket as the Chinese took the 71-68 lead which they preserved to the finish.
Guo and Zhao paced the Chinese with 18 and 11 points, respectively, while Ranidel de Ocampo,
Douthit, Fonacier, Tenorio, Norwood, Dillinger and David made at least seven points each in a
balanced scoring by the Filipinos. (SB)
The scores:
CHINA 71 – Guo 18, Zhao 11, WE 7, Sui 7, Duan 6, Wang 6, Sun 6, Cao 4, Yu 3, Zhang 3, Wang Z. 0,
Cao 0.
SMART GILAS-PILIPINAS 68 – De Ocampo 11, Douthit 10, Fonacier 10, Norwood 9, Tenorio 8, Dillinger
8, David 7, Chan 5, Reyes 0, Thoss 0, Villanueva 0.
Quarterscores: 18-15, 40-33, 54-56, 71-68
0 comments:
Post a Comment