PAUL LEE SPARKLES IN GILAS WIN OVER CHINESE-TAIPEI
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 13 Jul 2014
Paul Lee.
Leaving the heartbreak of defeat in the sudden death playoff game of the PBA Governors Cup to SanMig Coffee earlier this week, Rain Or Shine guard Paul Lee put on what FIBA Asia described as a sparkling performance to help World Cup bound Gilas Pilipinas to a 78-64 victory over Chinese-Taipei in the 5th FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan, China.
The Philippines started off impressively scoring the first 10 points of the game and quickly opened up a 16-point lead but floundered behind a series of turnovers and almost blew it.
However, expertly handled by coach Chot Reyes the players soon settled down and eventually tightened the screws on the Chinese-Taipei squad for their first win in the tournament.
FIBA Asia reported that coach Chot Reyes? wishes for stern tests for the Gilas Pilipinas preparation for their appearance at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup to be played in Spain from Aug 30-Sept 14 couldn?t have found better returns than the manner in which Taipei stretched the Philippines.
Reyes in a post-game interview said ?Almost 30 turnovers may not be the best way to go forward. But I?m not complaining. This is the first game after a long time. Some guys are just coming off a long PBA season. And some of them are wearing this uniform for the first time. There?s bound to be some pressure. But I think we?ll come along alright.?
Paul Lee who was coming off a heartbreaking PBA championship loss and a demanding season made what FIBA described as ?a spectacular debut for the Gilas Pilipinas with a stellar role in the Philippines? victory.?
The strongly built Rain Or Shine backcourt star who has battled his way into the national pool and is crowding the regular Gilas players for a spot on the World Cup squad was the architect of a 13-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter that helped Gilas Pilipinas break away from a Chinese-Taipei squad that battled to mount a rally.
The 25-year-old Lee who carried his mother?s name on his jersey scored 8 of his game-high 18 points in the final period. Veteran Gary David who waxed hot at the start of the game scoring six of the first 10 points finished with 16 points while Marcus Douthit was a monster off the boards with 16 rebounds to go with 8 points.
LA Tenorio and Ranidel De Ocampo each had 11 points.
Youngster Hu Long-Mao?s 15 points led Taipei, but with naturalized American Quincy Davis held to a mere 8 points it was a tough task for the semi finalists of the last FIBA Asia Championships in Manila to overcome the Gilas Pilipinas team that earned a slot in the World Cup in Spain this year after finishing second to Iran in Manila.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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