MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas failed to capitalize on opportunities down the stretch and Angola got way with an 84-81 overtime victory in their 2019 FIBA World Cup match last night at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center in Foshan, China.
After being down by as much as 12 points in the second half, the national men’s basketball team showed some fight in the fourth quarter behind Jaymar Perez, Japeth Aguilar, Roger Pogoy, and Kiefer Ravena to establish a 69-65 edge.
Angola countered with a rally to take a 73-70 advantage with under two minutes left in the fourth.
Gilas was able to force an overtime after a three-pointer from Perez.
The national men’s basketball team opened the extension period with a basket from Pogoy and a free throw by Andray Blatche for a 76-73 edge but seven straight points by Angola surged them ahead 80-76.
Angola extended the lead to 83-78 with 31 seconds left. Pogoy unloaded a triple to cut the deficit for Gilas 81-83.
After a split free throw by Angola, Gilas had a chance to force another extension but Perez misfired his triple try.
Joaquim Valdelicio tallied 20 points, Reggie Moore and Yanick Moreira contributed 12 points each, while Carlos Morais and Jaques Conceicao had 11 and 10 markers, respectively, for Angola.
Blatche finished the match with double-double 23 points and 12 rebounds for Gilas. PBA rookies Perez and Robert Bolick Jr. contributed 17 and 10 markers, respectively.
The Joseller “Yeng” Guiao-mentored squad still has two games remaining in the classification round in Beijing this weekend against Iran and either Puerto Rico or Tunisia./PN
