MANILA – Team Philippines nearly erased a deficit as high as 26 points and then suffered a 78-86 loss to Canada in the 2018 William Jones Cup on Tuesday at the Xinzhuang Gym in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Canada had a torrid outside shooting in the first two quarters to build a lead as high as 46-20 but the Philippines had a mini run behind Aaron Black and George Isaac Go to come to within 27-51 at the half.
The Philippines started strong in the third period behind Adrian Wong and Joseph Matthew Nieto to come to within 46-61 before coming even closer 54-66 heading into the fourth.
Canada was still up 14 points when Philippines had another run from Nieto, Wong and Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena to trim the deficit 76-82 before Canada sealed the victory with four free throws.
Nieto finished the match with 18 points, Ravena chipped in 12 markers, while Wong and Michael Joseph Nieto had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Ateneo Blue Eagles-represented Philippines (1-2).
Shaquille Keith top-scored with 18 points, including four triples, while Connor Wood and Terry Thomas added 16 and 14 points, respectively, for Canada, which remained unbeaten in four matches.
“Our target is to represent the university and the country well. We will play to the best of our abilities,” said Ravena. “It is not just an opportunity but a responsibility to represent the country well.”
Handled by former Gilas Pilipinas mentor Thomas Baldwin, the Philippine squad opened its campaign with an 87-64 win over Chinese-Taipei White on Sunday before suffering a 73-90 loss to South Korea on Monday.
The Philippines will return to action Wednesday against Japan at 5 p.m. followed by Indonesia on Thursday, Lithuania on Friday and Republic of China on Saturday./PN
