The Philippines men’s basketball team played hard against Argentina in FIBA World Cup group play on Monday, September 1 but ultimately fell short.
Gilas lost 85-81.
The key moment came with less than a minute left--Gilas had the ball and was down just 2 points, and head coach Vincent Reyes had called timeout. But the drawn up play seemed to break down. Jayson William went up for a 3-pointer which appeared to be partially blocked. He came back down with the ball and was called for a travel.
Gilas was forced to foul and the game was over after Argentina made two free throws.
Coach Chot Reyes said that the loss was painful.
“It’s painful because the players worked so hard. I thought that we’re happy that we’re fighting, that we’re competing against top 3 team in the world,” said Reyes after the match, reported ABS-CBN.
But the team is showing great effort.
MORE: FIBA World Cup 2014: Updated Standings and Group Projections
“We’re seeing that despite the fact that we’re in this for the first time in so many years, it’s our first time ever here, and despite the fact that we’re undersized, we’re still fighting,” said Reyes. “We’re just disappointed that we couldn’t pull down a win.”
Jimmy Alapag said that the great effort shows that Gilas belongs in the World Cup.
“It’s a once in a lifetime to play against the No. 3 in the world and it’s a game I thought we fought every step of the way ...in the game of basketball that’s all you can ask for,” said Alapag.
“Before this tournament started, we want to give ourselve the chance to stick around which we still do. But I think most of if it is we want to get respect from the world. We deserve to be here.”
The Philippines will now rest on Tuesday, then play Puerto Rico on Wednesday and Senegal on Thursday. Friday is designated a rest day before knockout play starts next Saturday, September 6.
Gilas will have to win its final two games to have any chance of getting into knockout play.
See the score updates and video highlights below.
Final Stats:
Ranidel de Ocampo leads the Philippines with 18 points while Andray Blatche had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Jim Alapag chipped in 15 points. Tellingly, no Gilas player had more than 2 assists.
Luis Scola led Argentina with 19 points and also had 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Marcos Mata chipped in 17 points and 9 rebounds.
Second Quarter
--Blatche is still not back in the game but the Philippines goes up 32-22 on some nice shooting.
--At the halfway mark in the second quarter, Gilas is up 34-28. The Argentinians seem stunned by the effort while the Philippines keep shooting the ball well.
--“ARG crowd are shell shocked. they don’t know what hit them,” reported TJ Manotoc, a journalist with ABS-CBN at the game.
--With 2:39 left in the half, the Philippines are up 36-32.
--Pablo Prigioni, who plays for the NBA’s New York Knicks, makes a 3-pointer.
--Blatche is back in the game.
--Argentina takes the lead then extends it to 40-36. Blatche makes a layup with 21 seconds left, but Mata comes back with a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Final score at half: 43-38 in Argentina’s favor. Luis Scola has three fouls, though, a huge point.
STATS: Scola leads Argentina with 10 points while Walter Herrmann leads with 5 rebounds. De Ocampo has 10 points while Blatche has five rebounds.
