Gilas Pilipinas led from start to finish to beat Kazakhstan 88-58 in the FIBA Asia Championship quarterfinals last night.
The team were roared forward by the electric Filipino crowd who cheered every basket, every chase for the loose ball, every turnover and every sound of the whistle from the referees.
“The crowd really helped this team along and helped us play with a lot of energy. We needed to come out with a lot of energy because we’re playing a taller team.” said coach Reyes.
Gilas opened up 32-13 lead in the first quarter but by halftime Kazakhstan had managed to claw the score back to 51-40. A three pointer from Larry Fonacier in the third period started an 11-2 blast from Gilas that stopped the Kazakhstan fightback in its tracks, and the home team went into the fourth quarter leading 67-49.
Gary David finished with his tournament best 22 points, breaking out of his shooting slump after making four of his six three-point attempts. Japeth Aguilar added 11 points and nine rebounds for Gilas. Jayson Castro and Gabe Norwood contributed double-digit markers while Marcus Douthit endured a bruised shin, finishing with 10 rebounds and adding five points.
Gilas Pilipinas play South Korea, who knocked out Qatar 79-52, in the semifinals tonight at 8.30pm. Iran knocked out Jordan 94-50 to set up a semifinal date against Taiwan, who caused a huge shock by beating defending champion China 96-78.
Highlights of the Gilas vs Kazakhstan match.
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Photo: FIBA Asia.
