MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team leaned on an endgame run to prevail over Adelaide 36ers, 92-83, in a friendly match at the Meralco Gym in Pasig City.
After seeing its eight-point four quarter edge turn into an 81-80 deficit with over five minutes left, Roger Pogoy spearheaded a 10-0 scoring blast by the national team to take a 90-81 lead.
Pogoy finished the match on Friday night with 10 points, including two triples.
Naturalized center Andray Blatche flirted with triple-double – 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.
Japeth Aguilar also made his presence felt with 17 points, including a two-handed dunk in the final seconds that sealed the win for the Philippines.
Christian Jaymar Perez and Paul Lee had 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
Matthew Wright, John Paul Erram and Marcio Lassiter sat out the match due to injuries, while Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena remained unavailable due to the FIBA suspension slapped on him.
“The 36ers gave us a really good game. I felt it was exactly what we needed. Yun ‘yung kailangan talaga natin, rugged, physical playing against bigger guys, playing against biggies who can run the floor, who are quick,” said Gilas head coach Yeng Guiao.
Ramon Moore tallied 16 points, while Harry Froling added 11 markers for the 36ers.
The national team and the Australian-based basketball club are set to meet again today./PN
