MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas saw its Paris Olympics hopes crushe via a 71-60 defeat to Brazil in the semifinals round of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Saturday night at the Riga Arena in Riga, Latvia.
The Philippine men’s basketball team, playing without star center Kai Sotto, failed to sustain their strong start as they allowed the Brazilians to turn things around in the second half.
Bruno Caboclo led the way with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Marcelinho Huertas added 13 markers, mostly in the second half, as Brazil entered the qualifiers finals round.
Brazil cruised to a 7-2 start after a three-pointer by Gui Santos, but Gilas Pilipinas got eight straight points from Dwight Ramos and back-to-back conversions from Justin Brownlee for a 22-12 lead.
Gilas Pilipinas continued their run in the second quarter as they established a 30-19 lead on an inside hit by Brownlee, but Brazil gained momentum to end the half as they cut the deficit to 27-33.
Brazil opened the third quarter with a huge scoring run to surge ahead at 41-35. Gilas Pilipinas attempted to keep the match close, but the Brazilians continued with their offense as the lead grew to 51-39.
Gilas Pilipinas opened the final quarter with a triple from Ramos and a layup by Jaymar Perez to trim the deficit to 44-51, but Brazil leaned on Huertas’ perimeter hits as they widened the lead to double-digits.
Brownlee finished with 15 points, with 12 coming in the first half, to go with eight rebounds, Ramos added 13 markers, while Perez and June Mar Fajardo ended with 10 markers apiece for Gilas Pilipinas.
It was a dream start for the No. 37 ranked Gilas Pilipinas in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament after scoring an 89-80 over the No. 6 ranked Latvia before losing a close one over Georgia, 96-94.
Only the champion team in the four-team Latvia leg will earn a qualification to Paris Olympics men’s basketball tournament./PN
BOX SCORE:
BRAZIL 71 – Caboclo 15, Huertas 13, Diaz 10, Y. Santos 8, De Paula 8, Meindl 7, G. Santos 3, Louzada 3, Felicio 2, Benite 2.
PHILIPPINES 60 – Brownlee 15, Ramos 13, Fajardo 10, Perez 10, Newsome 5, Aguilar 4, Tamayo 3, Oftana 0, Quiambao 0.
Quarterscores: 12-22, 27-33, 51-39, 71-60.
