Hello Ballers, Discodad here! The Gilas Pilipinas made a valiant effort but fell to Serbia, 83-76, in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, early Thursday morning (Manila time). With 3:50 left in the game, the Filipinos took a 74-73 lead on a layup by RJ Abarrientos, but they were unable to maintain the momentum in the final. In the third quarter, the Philippines rallied once again to level the game at 67 each, but Serbia responded with a 6-0 run. In the fourth quarter, Gilas made a last drive for a one-point lead, but the Serbians moved their game inside to Marjanovic, who outmuscled his Gilas defenders beneath the basket. Serbia will qualify to the next round after being unbeaten in the game with a 94-76 victory against Dominican Republic on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Filipinos must defeat the Dominicans on Friday morning in order to keep their quest for the Tokyo Olympics alive.
Philippines vs Dominican Republic
With a defeat to the Dominican Republic, the Philippines’ Olympic basketball dreams came to an end. Gilas Pilipinas failed to maintain their good start, losing 94-67 to Dominican Republic on Thursday, July 1 in Belgrade, Serbia, to miss the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The Philippines’ chances of competing in the Tokyo Olympics were dashed with the defeat.
After world No. 5 Serbia (2-0) won the first spot in Group A, Dominican Republic clinched the last semi final place with a 1-1 record. In the Serbia OQT leg, only the top two teams from each of the two groups will advance to the knockout semifinals.
Victor Liz and Gelvis Solano led the Dominican Republic, which was defeated by Serbia 94-76 on Tuesday.
Jordan Heading led the Philippines with 16 points and three assists on 4-for-6 shooting from outside the range. With 10 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench, Ange Kouame was the only other Gilas player in double figures.
“It was obviously a tough game for us today,” coach Tab Baldwin said. “No excuses and not much to say about it other than that we were outplayed, outcoached and outgunned. You’ve got to give Dominican Republic credit for the way that they played and doing what they had to do to win and win convincingly.”
Early in the third quarter, Gilas led 45-41, but a 10-2 run by Dominican Republic turned the tide and placed the world No. 19 team ahead, 51-47, halfway through the period.
With 4:30 remaining in the third, SJ Belangel’s hoop pulled Gilas within 53-51, but it would be the Philippines’ last points for a long time as Dominican Republic scored 12 consecutive points to finish the session.
Gelvis Solano, the Dominican Republic’s offensive ace during that period, scored seven points in the fourth quarter, including a double clutch slam in the fastbreak to complete a 24-2 run that gave his side a dominating 74-53 advantage.
Solano had 21 points, five assists, and three steals in the game. Michael Cuevas had 20 points, six assists, five rebounds, and three steals to lead Dominican Republic. Victor Liz led the team with 23 points on 5-for-6 shooting from outside.
The Dominican Republic will play Italy in the crossover semifinals. Gilas Pilipinas had a 0-2 record in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Gilas will take a brief break before returning to training in August for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in Jakarta, Indonesia.
“We don’t have exact dates yet and we don’t know exactly what the protocol measures will be in the Philippines, but it looks like it will be back to the Calamba bubble for us,” Baldwin said. “I would say somewhere around July 20 we’ll be back in the gym with the team.”
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 94 — Liz 23, Solano 21, Torres Cuevas 20, Nunez Castillo 13, Francis Ramirez 5, Rojas 4, Araujo 4, Santos 2, Mendoza 2, Henriquez 0, Feliz Sarita 0, Martinez 0.
PHILIPPINES 67 — Heading 16, Kouame 10, Sotto 8, Navarro 6, Belangel 6, Abarrientos 6, Baltazar 5, Tamayo 5, Nieto 4, Go 1, Chiu 0.
Quarters: 23-22, 39-41, 65-51, 94-67.
And that’s it for our Gilas Pilipinas Team. Wow, even though they were physically played by the Dominican they stand still and fought harder than we thought. Let us keep our heads up for their incoming game on August. Discodad is signing out, keep safe Ballers!