After bowing out from the Jones Cup title contention, an awakened Gilas Pilipinas finally came back from its unlucky break on Wednesday night against archrival South Korea.
Gilas Pilipinas dumped the hard-fighting Iraqis with an 84-75 victory on Thursday night in 29th William Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium, Taiwan.
Struggling on the first three and a half minutes of the game, Gilas finally put up some score on the board as Carl Bryan Cruz broke the ice with his consistent charities after being fouled while attempting a three point shot.
The Iraq squad, however, flexed muscles inside the paint and extended the deficit to a 4-point lead at the end of first quarter, 19-15.
On the second quarter, Gilas Pilipinas, meanwhile, tasted the first lead of the ball game through Jalalon’s freethrow, followed by another Wright triple to set the pace for the Filipino squad.
Lots of defensive stops and a Paras emphatic getaway dunk late in the 2nd quarter not only gave Gilas their first double-digit lead but also a chance to secure momentum and take the first half, 36-22.
Iraq threatened through their reinforcement Demario Aquan Mayfield but Gilas managed to trade baskets, added by a more efficient three point shooting led by Matthew Wright to give much advantage against their counterparts.
It was all Philippines since they established their momentum and dumped the Iraq team with 84-75 victory.
Gilas, moreover, improved their rainbow country accuracy to 33% ,with seven triples out of 21 shots compared to yesterdays only one conversion.
Myers led the Gilas in scoring with 16 points, followed by Ravena’s 13 points and Pogoy’s 12.
Jalalon and Cruz also contributed a double-digit scoring with 10 points apiece.
Gilas Pilipinas will next face Lithuania on Friday at 3pm. | Tretch Melarpes – PTV
