Gilas falters against China as they settle for Silver

By Jan Angelo Bermas

Amid the roar of a crowd hell bent on seeing them lose, Gilas Pilipinas fell versus the giant China, 78-67, to settle for silver in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship on Saturday, October 3 in Changsha, Hunan, China.

The Philippines missed the outright berth to the 2016 Summer Olympics and will instead be relegated to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament happening in 2016 from July 5 to 16.

Naturalized big man Andray Blatche was the only player in double figures for Gilas with 17 points and 5 rebounds.

Guard Jayson Castro, known as Jayson William internationally, never got going in the game as he finished with only 8 points on a miserable 3-of-14 shooting from the field on top of 6 rebounds and a single assist. This was the only time Castro scored below 10 points.

Gilas started the game well at 5-0 and led for a while but the Chinese steadily crept back in and erected a double-digit lead thanks to 14-of-22 free-throws while the Filipinos had only 7-of-11 from the stripe.

China, ranked 14th in the world by FIBA, never relented the 46-35 halftime lead they established as they hit open baskets from the outside. They led by 16 point bulges in the second half and with just over 3 minutes remaining.

The game got ugly as early as the first half with calls and breaks not going the way of the Philippines, as the Gilas bench and players incessantly complained all game long. Gilas was called for 28 fouls while China had 24.

There were also several instances where Chinese fans allegedly threw objects at Gilas assistant coach Norman Black, at Filipino fans in the venue, and even at Calvin Abueva after the Gilas rookie fouled out with over 4 minutes remaining.

It was an ugly loss for the Philippines, which dominated most of their foes from the first round.

“Throughout this tournament, our team displayed the Philippine brand of selfless, creative, passionate basketball, fuelled by the warm and vocal support of Filipinos at home and abroad”, said Edwin Lacierda, Presidential Spokesperson, in a statement congratulating the team on finishing as runner-ups for the second straight tournament.

“This group deserves the respect of the country. They may not have won the gold medal, but they are winners as people,” coach Tab Baldwin said, reassuring the fans that they still can hold their heads up high.