THE national men’s basketball team hopes to carry the momentum of its gigantic vengeful upset of China when it tackles Iraq in its second assignment today in the International Basketball Federation Asia Cup at the Nouhad Nawfal Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon.
Still savoring its 96-87 conquest of the Chinese on Wednesday night, Gilas Pilipinas takes the floor at 9 p.m. against the Iraqis, who also won their first game against Qatar, 75-66, in another Group B game also on Wednesday.
Gilas Pilipinas’s victory avenged its infamous 67-78 loss to China in the finals of the 2015 edition in Changsa.
Down to 10 men following the ejection of Calvin Abueva in the first quarter, the Filipinos waxed hot most of the way, leading by as many as
Terrence Romeo led a mighty Gilas Pilipinas stand that almost went for naught, scoring 14 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter when the Chinese grabbed the driver’s seat and sent shivers down the Filipinos’ spines.
Romeo served as the spark in Gilas’s 12-0 run to end the game.
But Romeo also had a lot of help from his teammates. Jayson Castro again proved to be Asia’s best point guard by dropping 13 points and seven assists.
FIBA Asia Cup first-timers Christian Standhardinger and Matthew Wright also had spectacular performances andchipped in 15 and 12 points, respectively.
From the tip, Gilas took control of the game. They were quick to establish a double-digit advantage. But the Filipinos ran into a big challenge early in the game.
Just a minute and half after entering the game, Abueva drew a foul on China’s Li Gen. “The Beast” did not appreciate the contact so he went at the Chinese player and landed a head butt.
Abueva was slapped with a disqualifying foul and was tossed from the game.
But Gilas did not look derailed. The lead continued to grow and it reached a high of 17 points, 38-21, in the second quarter.
In the third period, China began clawing back. Led by Guo Ailun and Zhou Peng, they trimmed the lead to six points heading into the final quarter. And in the fourth quarter, the Chinese got their first taste of the lead at 83-82.
It China’s turn to bump into trouble when Guo fouled out with 4:42 remaining. With him out, Romeo took over and scored eight straight points to give Gilas a five-point lead, 92-87.
China could not score anymore as Gilas padded their lead with Standhardinger and Wright hitting their marks.
Guo tallied 18 points and five assists before exiting the match. Zhou added 17 points on 3-for-7 three-point shooting.
Image credits: fiba.com