The Philippine national men’s basketball team defeated Saudi Arabia, 78-66, but not before experiencing plenty of struggles against an opponent that was supposed to be an easy opening assignment in the FIBA Asia Championship. It was an anxious scene on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena as the Saudis raced to a 16-14 lead in the first quarter. Gilas Pilipinas, playing in front of the home crowd in an Asian championship for the first time in 40 years, rebounded by taking a seven-point lead at halftime, 35-28, but could not break away because of foul trouble, turnovers, and poor shooting. The Philippines seemed like it was about to break the game open, taking a 16-point lead, 66-50, early in the fourth quarter. But Saudi Arabia hit three straight three-pointers to cut its deficit to just seven points, 66-59. Back-to-back hits from June Mar Fajardo and Marcus Douthit gave Gilas more cushion as it cruised to the victory. Perhaps feeling jitters playing at home, Gilas shot just 31 percent from the beyond the arc and committed 14 turnovers, including eight in the first half. The Filipinos also struggled to adjust to the calls, committing a total of 30 fouls and reaching the penalty in each of the four quarters. The Philippines’ starting frontcourt of Douthit and Marc Pingris was a source of strength. Douthit finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Pingris added eight and nine. LA Tenorio and Larry Fonacier led the scoring for Gilas with 12 points apiece. Aymam Almuwallad led Saudi Arabia with 18 points, while Mohammed Almarwani added 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Philippines will take on Jordan in its second outing on Friday, while Saudi Arabia will battle opening day victor Chinese Taipei earlier in the day. interaksyon/interaktv/gilas-pilipinas-struggles-before-putting-away-saudi-arabia-in-first-fiba-asia-assignment
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 14:39:53 +0000
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