MANILA – Andray Blatche had his best game in a Philippine jersey as the Gilas Pilipinas cruised to a 93-75 victory over Kazakhstan in the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifier on Sunday night at the Republican Velodrome Saryarka in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Blatche tallied 41 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and four steals to lead the way for the national men’s basketball team. Jayson Castro added 15 markers, including a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the three-point area.
The victory improved the Gilas Pilipinas’ standings to 7-5 in Group F thus attaining the best fourth place finish in the Asian qualifier as Group E’s fourth place team Lebanon finished with 6-6 loss following their heartbreaking 72-84 loss to the South Korea.
Blatche was blazing offensively to start the game as he drained Gilas’ 17 of first 19 points for an eight point edge. Kazakhstan made their move late in the quarter to come to within 21-22.
Gilas took a 31-26 lead early in the second on a trey by Castro and layup by Blatche but the Kazakhs responded and even took a 39-36 lead but a triple by Marcio Lassiter and a jumper by Paul Lee gave the Philippines a 45-40 halftime lead.
Gilas continued its run in the third quarter as it surged to a 57-45 lead on hits from Blatche and Japeth Aguilar. Kazakhstan rallied to within 54-60 but eight straight points from Castro propelled the Philippines to a 15 point advantage.
Kazakhstan was able to come to within 12 early in the fourth but the Gilas poured it on after a layup by June Mar Fajardo, a triple from Lassiter and free throws by Blatche for its biggest lead of 93-73 on a triple by Lee.
“Andray carried us on his shoulders in the first half, he was on fire,” said Gilas head coach Joseller Guiao. “We are just happy that this is over and we are happy to make it to the World Cup.”
Anthony Clemmons tallied 27 points and nine assists, while Dmitriy Gavrilov and Rustam Yergali tallied 12 and 11 markers, respectively, for Kazakhstan, which finished with 2-8 win-loss slate./PN
