Hontiveros catches fire as Gilas trips Kiwis in OT

MANILA, Philippines - Dondon Hontiveros caught fire in the overtime as Gilas Pilipinas overcame a 16-point deficit and pulled off a nerve-wracking 92-88 win over Wellington Saints of New Zealand Friday in the 37th Williams Jones Cup in Taiwan. 

Hontiveros fired three triples in the extra time to bail Gilas out from a lethargic first half play. 

The 38-year old Cebuano gunner hit 11 of his 21 points in the overtime while the 42-year old Asi Taulava pumped in 10 and six boards for this statement win that came after a nine-point loss to Iran yesterday. 

Gilas won its fourth in six games with their senior statesmen coming up big when the team needed it most. 

Taulava found the fountain of youth in the second half as he dove for loose balls and muscles his way to the basket like it's 2002 all over again. The ageless veteran center who started to don the national colors along with Hontiveros in the 2002 Busan Asian Games was all over the court and helped sparked Gilas' mighty comeback in the second half. 

Taulava's back-to-back baskets capped off an 11-2 closing run by Gilas to chop the deficit to just seven, 52-59, heading into the payoff period. 

Hontiveros, Calvin Abueva and Jayson Castro also did their part with the latter's floater off the glass with 43 seconds left tied the game at 76-all.  The Saints' big man Brian Davis, who chalked up 31 points and 13 boards, gave the Kiwis their last lead in the game, 78-76 on a tip-in in the final 31.3 seconds. 

Castro then forced the overtime with a strong drive off the dribble with 19 seconds left as the Saints scrambled for the last shot. 

In the overtime, Hontiveros hit three straight triples as Gilas kept the Kiwis at bay. 

Castro paced Gilas with 22 points and five assists while Abueva and Sonny Thoss added 11 points apiece. 

Gilas will next face USA Selection at 5 p.m. on Friday.