Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippines national basketball team, defeated Hong Kong at the FIBA Asia 2013 Championship at MOA Arena on Wednesday.
It was a low-scoring first half. It looked like the Philippines was initially very complacent against the young Hong Kong team. Luck was not on the side of the Filipinos either. Gilas was shooting only 30 percent from the floor while the team’s three-point shooting was disappointing throughout the first two quarters.
The Filipinos must have talked it over at the dugout during the halftime break. Jimmy Alapag led the team in launching an attack and on the other side of the court, naturalized player Marcus Douthit had two consecutive blocks early in the third quarter. Jeff Chan’s three-point play off a foul gave the Philippines the lead for the first time in the game.
Hong Kong, however, retaliated with 3 points courtesy of its outside shooter, Lik Yun Chan. Gilas recovered the lead after Ranidel De Ocampo added two from a Jayson Castro assist.
Hong Kong’s offensive rebounding was hurting Gilas, but LA Tenorio stepped up his offense and anchored a rally by the Philippine team, less than two minutes to go in the third quarter.
Gilas had the momentum entering the fourth period with a 3-point lead over the visiting team. Tenorio continued to fire shots from beyond the arc. When Hong Kong tried to take a 8-2 run, Gilas relied on Douthit and Gabe Norwood for points in the paint.
Philippines attained its biggest lead at 6 points then later extended it to 10, under six minutes in the final period. Hong Kong had a crucial turnover five minutes to go in the game, but their sharpshooter Sui Wing Chan successfully made a shot from downtown to cut the lead.
Norwood, who played well tonight, had two consecutive shots —a difficult jumper and a three-point play opportunity— during the crucial minutes. The effectiveness of Coach Chot’s 2-pointguard combination worked when Alapag and Castro gave Gilas the opportunity to widen the lead further.
Scores per quarter: Philippines vs Hong Kong 13-19, 28-33, 46-43, 67-55.
It was a 12-point victory for the Philippines, now number one in Group E with 4 wins and 1 loss after two rounds of elimination. We will embed a replay video if it’s available.
Gilas Pilipinas will go against Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals on Friday.
It was a low-scoring first half. It looked like the Philippines was initially very complacent against the young Hong Kong team. Luck was not on the side of the Filipinos either. Gilas was shooting only 30 percent from the floor while the team’s three-point shooting was disappointing throughout the first two quarters.
The Filipinos must have talked it over at the dugout during the halftime break. Jimmy Alapag led the team in launching an attack and on the other side of the court, naturalized player Marcus Douthit had two consecutive blocks early in the third quarter. Jeff Chan’s three-point play off a foul gave the Philippines the lead for the first time in the game.
Hong Kong, however, retaliated with 3 points courtesy of its outside shooter, Lik Yun Chan. Gilas recovered the lead after Ranidel De Ocampo added two from a Jayson Castro assist.
Hong Kong’s offensive rebounding was hurting Gilas, but LA Tenorio stepped up his offense and anchored a rally by the Philippine team, less than two minutes to go in the third quarter.
Gilas had the momentum entering the fourth period with a 3-point lead over the visiting team. Tenorio continued to fire shots from beyond the arc. When Hong Kong tried to take a 8-2 run, Gilas relied on Douthit and Gabe Norwood for points in the paint.
Philippines attained its biggest lead at 6 points then later extended it to 10, under six minutes in the final period. Hong Kong had a crucial turnover five minutes to go in the game, but their sharpshooter Sui Wing Chan successfully made a shot from downtown to cut the lead.
Norwood, who played well tonight, had two consecutive shots —a difficult jumper and a three-point play opportunity— during the crucial minutes. The effectiveness of Coach Chot’s 2-pointguard combination worked when Alapag and Castro gave Gilas the opportunity to widen the lead further.
Scores per quarter: Philippines vs Hong Kong 13-19, 28-33, 46-43, 67-55.
It was a 12-point victory for the Philippines, now number one in Group E with 4 wins and 1 loss after two rounds of elimination. We will embed a replay video if it’s available.
Gilas Pilipinas will go against Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals on Friday.