Gilas exits on high note, survives Jordan
Terrence Romeo of Gilas Pilipinas. Above, a soaring Roger Pogoy goes for a layup--Gilas' final blow to defeat the Jordanians. | FIBA.com Photos
MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas ended the tournament on a winning note, defeating Jordan, 75-70, in the classification phase of 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday night.
The pace favored no side as the two teams struggled to knock down decent looks. The Filipinos only drained 24 of their 70 total shots. The Jordanians went on to convert 22 of their 62 attempts.
And in cardiac fashion, Gilas pulled the rug on Jordan, which was in the driver's seat in the final two minutes of the game.
Terrence Romeo, who had been consistent in bailing out the Philippines in the tournament, hit a booming triple at the final 58 ticks of the game to pull Gilas to within one. Then he again fed Japeth Aguilar for a point-blank shot to retake the lead 71-70.
But it wasn’t only on offense that Romeo delivered. He forced Mahmoud Abdeen to commit a backcourt violation with 14 left on the clock, which cost the Jordanians their chance to flip the script.
The guard out of the GlobalPort squad led all scorers with 13 points.
Mousa al Awadi paced Jordan with 21 points, but he went cold toward the homestretch.
Roger Pogoy put the icing on the cake when he swiped the leather from the Jordanians and hit a layup on the other end.
The win nets Gilas a seventh place finish in the tournament, which that grants the Philippines plus 3 points in the FIBA ranking ladder.
This senior Gilas team logged their worst finish in the past four iterations of the FIBA tourney. Their last two outings — in Changsha and in Manila — saw the Philippines take home the silver medal.
This older version of the national team is now expected to shift focus to the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in November. Their first assignment is Japan.
The scores:
Philippines 75 – Romeo 13, Wright 13, Cruz 9, Aguilar 8, Castro 8, Abueva 6, Norwood 5, Almazan 4, Jalalon 4, Fajardo 3, Pogoy 2.
Jordan 70 – Alawadi 21, Hussein 13, Alharmasheh 12, Abdeen 10, Hawwas 8, Zaghab 3, Bzai 3, Abu Wazaneh 0.
Quarterscores: 17-17, 35-27, 58-53, 75-70
- Latest
- Trending
