Gilas Pilipinas misses quarters as Asian Games title defense dashed by China
MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas’ Asian Games title defense came to a humiliating end at the hands of an opponent determined to settle the score.
The Philippines suffered an early exit and failed to reach the quarterfinals following a crushing 105-61 loss to China at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, on Monday, September 14.
Needing to avoid a loss of more than 37 points to advance, the Filipinos were instead battered by 44 points and finished third in Group C with a 1-2 record as China found some semblance of vengeance for its stinging one-point defeat to the Philippines in the semifinals of the 2023 edition.
By failing to make the quarterfinals, Gilas Pilipinas crashed to its worst finish in Asian Games history, worse than its seventh-place showing in 2014.
Calvin Oftana and Sedrick Barefield showed the way with 13 and 9 points, respectively, but their efforts were not enough against the taller and more cohesive Team Dragon, who made sure to eliminate Gilas Pilipinas.
Going into the game, the Philippines held the inside track for one of the quarterfinals spots reserved for the two best third-place teams, thanks to its superior +27 point differential — well ahead of Group B’s Jordan (-5) and Group A’s Saudi Arabia (-11).
China, however, blew the game wide open early, racing to a commanding 36-16 lead after the opening quarter and then stretching it to 45 points late in the third period, 79-34.
A pair of three-pointers by Barefield and Don Trollano to end the third quarter, followed by a 6-2 spurt to open the fourth that cut the Philippines’ deficit to 46-81, briefly fueled hopes of meeting the 37-point threshold, but China pulled away again and mounted its biggest lead at 94-48 on a Li Yuezhou three-pointer with four minutes remaining.
Wang Junjie produced a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds, leading a balanced attack that saw seven Chinese players finish in double-figure scoring.
Liao Sanning tallied 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, Hu Mingxuan chimed in 13 points and 4 assists, while former NBA player Cu Yongxi delivered 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists for China, which topped Group C with a perfect 3-0 record and an average winning margin of a whopping 42.7 points.
Trollano added 7 points in the loss, while Zavier Lucero and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser each scored 5 points and combined for 10 rebounds.
Aside from China, Bahrain advanced from Group C with a 2-1 record as it pulled off an 89-85 squeaker against the Philippines and beat winless Kazakhstan.
Gilas Pilipinas’ lone win came in a 109-78 drubbing of Kazakhstan.
The Scores
China 105 – Wang 20, Liao 14, Hu 13, Li 11, Jiao 11, Cui 10, Hu 10, Yu 9, Pang 7.
Philippines 61 – Oftana 13, Barefield 9, Trollano 7, Bolick 5, Ahanmisi 5, Lucero 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 5, Nocum 4, Abarrientos 4, Bates 2, Arana 2, Baltazar 0.
Quarters: 36-16. 66-30, 79-40, 105-61.
– Rappler.com
