Gilas tututok na sa second round

MANILA, Philippines — Tututukan na ng Gilas Pilipinas ang second round ng FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.

Hindi na nagpaliwanag pa si Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone matapos durugin ang kanyang bataan ng powerhouse Australia, 49-92, sa third window na ginanap sa Perth, Australia.

Alam ni Cone na mas naging solido ang laro ng Australia kumpara sa Gilas Pilipinas na naglaro nang wala si naturalized player Justin Brownlee.

Lamang na lamang ang Boomers sa rebounds tangan ang 53-44 bentahe kontra sa Gilas Pilipinas.

Nakagawa pa ng 19 turnovers ang Pinoy cagers.

“They really were just superior athletes. We couldn’t get to our offense. They just did a great job defending,” ani Cone.

Bago tumulak sa Perth, galing ang Gilas Pilipinas sa Auckland kung saan umani ito ng dikdikang 102-106 double overtime loss sa New Zealand.

“We’ve had a really outstanding trip, worked really hard for this trip, went through a tough game against New Zealand double overtime, then lost our best player and then had to come in Perth,” ani Cone.

Hindi naglaro si Brownlee dahil sa injury.

Kaya naman hirap din ang Gilas Pilipinas.

Sa katunayan, walang player ng Gilas ang nagtala ng double digits.

Pinakamalaki na ang siyam na puntos na nairehistro ni Dwight Ramos.

“We pride ourselves on defense and yet we gave up 90 something points tonight. We felt OK going to halftime after playing in the second quarter,” ani Cone.