Gilas struts fine form but yields to tall Turkey

MANILA, Philippines - Gilas Pilipinas improved tremendously from the team that took a 35-point blowout versus Team Turkey in a previous tune-up, yielding an 84-76 loss in a rematch at the MOA Arena in Pasay City last night.

The Nationals actually set the pace most of the first half but fell behind by 17 points at the onset of the final half and ran out of time in their chase at the finish.

Andray Blatche, Terrence Romeo and Jayson Castro stood out as the Nationals put up a decent stand against the world No. 8 Turkey side, unlike in their shattering 68-103 defeat in an earlier tune-up over in Istanbul nine days ago.

Blatche came up with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block against five turnovers, Romeo rifled in three triples and a total of 16 markers in a relief job at the point while Castro contributed 13 markers, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Eleven missed free throws, mere 33-percent (9-of-27) three-point shooting and 11 turnovers didn’t help the Filipinos versus the Turks in their last warm-up game for the FIBA Olympic qualifier that fires off Tuesday at the same venue.

Gilas Pilipinas tangles with France while Turkey tackles Canada on opening night.

Naturalized point guard Ali Muhammed sizzled with 16 points, two assists and the same number of rebounds with five other Turks firing away double-digit outputs as they foiled Gilas’ upset bid.

The Turks dominated the boards, 43-33; ran an efficient transition offense and also attacked superbly on halfcourt plays to claim the win that could give them a momentum to ride on in the Manila OQT proper.

As they barely fell short, the Nationals believed they’re on the right track in their preparation for the Olympic qualifier where they will be facing France and New Zealand in the elims play.

From their last 17-point deficit at 35-52, the Nationals rallied to within six, 51-57, late in the third and stayed within striking distance of the Turks to the finish.

After the Dev Adam (the Giant Men) reestablished a double-digit spread in the fourth, Romeo took charge for Gilas, draining eight straight points in a fiery assault that shoved the Nationals to within six at 76-82 with1:01 left to play.

The Nationals, however, missed their next offense then they were forced to foul, with Semih Erden making it 83-76 on a free throw with time down to 47 seconds.

Gilas went down in defeat but the Nationals were convinced they made a good account of themselves in this rematch.

Overall, Team Phl played five tune-up games, winning over Asian rivals Iran and China and losing twice against Turkey and once against Italy.          

The scores:

Turkey 84 – Muhammed 16, Erden 13, Guler 13, Geyik 12, Osman 10, Mahmutoglu 8, Asik 5, Sipahi 2, Savas 2, Korkmaz 2, Balbay 1, Batuk 0, Arslan 0, Hersek 0.

Gilas 76 – Blatche 20, Romeo 16, Castro 13, Norwood 10, Parks 6, Rosario 4, Aguilar 3, Reyes 2, Fajardo 2, Chan 0, De Ocampo 0, Pingris 0.

Quarterscores: 21-25, 40-33, 65-53, 84-76