Gilas Pilipinas struggled offensively as the Dominican Republic pulled away late for a 94-67 blowout win Thursday (Friday morning Manila time) in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia.
A 24-2 Dominican Republic run in the second half sealed the fate of Gilas, which did not find its groove offensively towards the end.
Gelvis Solano and Victor Liz led the Carribean nation with 23 and 21 points, respectively.
The team will advance in the tournament semi-finals against Italy.
The Dominican Republic out-rebounded the nationals, 39-32, and also had 23 fastbreak points.
The Philippines managed to take a 33-25 lead in the second quarter, but Liz’s 14 first-half points helped quickly erase the deficit.
Later, the opponents went on a big unanswered run, aggravated by a scoring drought from Gilas as the difference kept growing.
Jordan Heading paced Gilas with 16 points including four triples. Ange Kouame was the only other double-digit scorer with 10 points. SJ Belangel dished out 10 assists.
Boxscores:
Philippines (67) – Heading 16, Kouame 10, Sotto 8, Belangel 6, Abarrientos 6, Navarro 6, Baltazar 5, Tamayo 5, Nieto 4, Go 1, Chiu 0.
Dominican Republic (94) – Liz 23, Solano 21, Torres Cuevas 20, Nunez Castillo 13, Francis Ramirez 5, Rojas 4, Araujo 4, Mendoza 2, Santos 2, Martinez 0, Henriquez 0, Feliz Sarita 0.
Quarterscores: 22-23, 41-39, 51-65, 67-94.
FIBA.basketball photo
- UAAP Season 86 unveils dynamic theme ‘Fueling the Future’ - September 15, 2023
- MSC 2023 expands, includes North Africa-Middle East, North America, Turkey - February 19, 2023
- ECHO picks Chou for M4 World Championship commemorative skin - February 18, 2023
