Gilas Pilipinas, the Philippine national basketball team, lost to Croatia 78-81 during their match in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The Filipino squad, said to be the underdog in Group B, has proven that they can get par with the strongest teams in the world after sending the game to overtime.
Andre Blatche led the team in scoring, along with Jeff Chan, who had a great finish in the game held Saturday at the packed Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo in Seville, Spain.
The naturalized player scored a three-pointer with less than 8 minutes to go in the final quarter.
The Philippine team was looking for a miracle as they were down by three in the remaining 6 seconds of the game. Jason Castro attempted to shoot from beyong the arc, but Croatia played tight defense. It appeared that he was fouled yet there was no call.
Croatia, a team which produced great players including former NBA players Toni Kukoc and the late Drazen Petrovic, was highly favored to win the match. They're apparently the second biggest team in the tournament.
It was a heartbreaking loss, but Gilas Pilipinas received a standing ovation from the crowd composed of Filipino and Croatian basketball fans among other nationalities.
Gilas Pilipinas will meet Greece on Sunday, August 31.
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| Image courtesy of FIBA |
Andre Blatche led the team in scoring, along with Jeff Chan, who had a great finish in the game held Saturday at the packed Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo in Seville, Spain.
The naturalized player scored a three-pointer with less than 8 minutes to go in the final quarter.
The Philippine team was looking for a miracle as they were down by three in the remaining 6 seconds of the game. Jason Castro attempted to shoot from beyong the arc, but Croatia played tight defense. It appeared that he was fouled yet there was no call.
Croatia, a team which produced great players including former NBA players Toni Kukoc and the late Drazen Petrovic, was highly favored to win the match. They're apparently the second biggest team in the tournament.
It was a heartbreaking loss, but Gilas Pilipinas received a standing ovation from the crowd composed of Filipino and Croatian basketball fans among other nationalities.
Gilas Pilipinas will meet Greece on Sunday, August 31.