INCHEON, South Korea—Gilas Pilipinas’s campaign in the 17th Asian Games has gotten from worse to worst.
The Filipino dribblers again choked on their fourth-quarter assault to yield to a young and rebuilding China side, 78-71, at the Hwaseong Sports Gymnasium on Monday.
The ousted defending champions are rebuilding after losing out in last year’s International Basketball Federation Asia Men’s championship, yielding a slot to the Spain World Cup to Iran, the Philippines and South Korea. The team members’ average age in these Games is 22.
But young and ill-experienced as they are, the Chinese stood their ground against the World Cup veterans, who managed to cut a 19-point deficit at 41-60 to just four, 66-70, midway through the fourth quarter, only to fall short against the dizzying Chinese offense and crippling defense.
The Chinese doused the Gilas uprising with an 11-point explosion capped by a Zhao Tailong slam dunk to frustrate the Filipinos with a 78-68 lead with one minute remaining.
It was Gilas’s fourth setback overall against only two wins in the Games, where the Filipinos were reduced to playing in the consolation round. They face Mongolia, which upset Chinese Taipei in the qualifying round, in the battle for seventh place at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday also at the Hwaseong Sports Gymnasium.
The Chinese, on the other hand, shoot for fifth place at 3:15 p.m. also on Wednesday against Qatar at the Samsan World Gymnasium.
Naturalized player Marcus Douthit poured his all in the game, finishing with 24 points and six rebounds. Ranidel de Ocampo contributed 16 points in the game. Mark Pingris and point guard Jimmy Alapag did not play.