November 27, 2017

Gilas twits Taipei for 2nd win in WC qualifiers

Gilas Pilipinas shrugged off a sluggish start and took the best Chinese Taipei could offer at the finish, hammering out a 90-83 win for a two-game sweep in the opening window of the FIBA World Cup home-and-away qualifiers.

The Nationals climbed out of an early 14-point hole, took the half at 46-42 and sustained the initiative on the way to the seven-point triumph before a good Monday crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Jason Castro had another sterling performance with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists while June Mar Fajardo played his finest game in a Gilas jersey, coming through with 17 markers, eight boards and two assists.

Matthew Wright, Calvin Abueva, Kiefer Ravena and Gabe Norwood also delivered the goods as Team Phl scored a crucial follow-up to their 77-71 win over Team Japan in Tokyo on Friday.

Naturalized player Andray Blatche had another up-and-down game, snaring 14 rebounds but made only six points and committed six turnovers in 28 minutes of action.

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Over in Adelaide, Australia clobbered Japan, 82-58, also for a second straight win in Group B play in this Asia/Oceania "WC" qualifiers.

The Nationals and the Boomers both go for a sweep in the opening round of the double-round-robin affair in the initial phase of the elims as they slug it out on the Aussies' turf on Feb. 22.

Quincy Davis produced 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Taipei's tough stand against Gilas.

The Taiwanese set the pace the in the opening minutes, leading by 23-18 in the opening quarter before the Nationals picked up their game and rolled ahead, 46-42, at the half.

The scores:

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Philippines 93 - Castro 20, Fajardo 17, Pogoy 11, Wright 11, Ravena 9, Abueva 8, Blatche 6, Norwood 5, Aguilar 3.

Chinese Taipei 83 - Davis 20, Chou 17, Huang 16, Liu 7, L33 6, Tsai 6, Lee 6, Chou 4, Chou P. 3, Chen 2, Chiang 2, Hu 0, Lu 0.

Quarterscores: 18-23, 46-42, 67-64, 90-83