GILAS PILIPINAS BOWS TO "THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA", FINISHES SECOND IN FIBA ASIA
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 04 Oct 2015
Gilas Pilipinas took a gallant stand against the very tall and young Chinese team but fell short of getting the crown as the hosts triumphed, 78-67, at the finals of the FIBA Asia championships in Changsha, China.
With average height of 6'8" and playing with four seven footers, China is a formidable "Great Wall" plus the hostile crowd going against the Philippines whose average was only 6'5".
Andray Blatche topscored for the Philippines with 17 points but grabbed only five rebounds against the towering Chinese defense.
Jayson Castro finished only 8 points on a dismal 3-of-14 shooting from the field and 6 rebounds and a single assist. This was the only game where Castro scored below 10 points.
The Philippines surged ahead 5-0 at the opening tip. But China overtook them and finished the first quarter ahead at 23-19.
With their 46-35 halftime lead, the Chinese juggernaut never looked back and proved why they are ranked No.14 in the world compared to Philippines' No. 31.
The Chinese led as high as 16 points in the second half. The Philippines were recepient of bad calls from the referees and the ugly crowd and organizers' treatment.
Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo contributed nine points each, while Gabe Norwood and Ranidel De Ocampo chipped in seven points apiece.
China was powered by Guo Ailun who topscored with 19 points on top of six rebounds while 7-foot-1 center Zhou Qi dominated the paint with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Veteran 7-footer Yi Jianlian poured in 11 points and pulled 15 boards.
But China's players were simply dominating with their crippling defense and towering fortification. Very young with an average age of 24, China showed mastery over the Philippines who is the oldest team at the average age of 31.
With the runner-up finish, the Philippines failed the outright berth to the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics and will compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on July 5-16, 2016. The tournament will include 18 national teams from FIBA?s continental tournaments. They will be divided into three groups of six. The winner from each group will qualify for Rio Olympics 2016.
Included in the Qualifier are FIBA Asia runners-up Philippines, Iran and Japan; European squads France, Serbia, Greece, Italy and Czech Republic; Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico from the Americas; New Zealand from Oceania and three countries to be determined later.
Fil-Am Los Angeles Lakers player Jordan Clarkson however is expected to be available for Gilas Pilipinas that time.
The consolation for Gilas was that Jayson Castro remained at the Mythical Five Selection as Asia's top point guard. Rounding up the first five are Iran?s Samad Nikkhah Bahrami and three Chinese players in Guo Ailun, Zhou Qi and Yi Jianlian who was chosen as the tournament MVP.
Congratulations Gilas Pilipinas for the silver medal finish!
Photo: Jayson Castro carries the ball during the China-Philippines finals game.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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