Gilas Pilipinas failed to come from behind as they suffered a tough dominating loss to powerhouse Canada, 90-77, in 2017 William Jones Cup opener on Satuday afternoon in Taipei Heping Gymnasium , Taiwan.
Displaying their youth and slight unfamiliarity, Gilas exposed a game with a lot of turnovers and misplays.
In the first quarter, the national team seemed to be on track as they start their engines, after falling on a 6-0 run by Canada, with a power play from the reinforcement Mike Myers and a top of the key three-pointer coming from Alaska rookie Carl Bryan Cruz.
But still, Canada showed more composed game plays inside and outside of the arc as they managed to put off some easy points in the score board, holding the narrow lead.
Late in the first quarter, Mac Belo, a super rookie from Blackwater, delivered a cold-blooded three coming from the dish of Kiefer Ravena exactly in the last 30-second mark to grab their first lead, 20-19.
The second quarter started with more toe-to-toe actions as both teams continued to add hard-earned points in the scoreboard. The Canadian team tied the ball game with an emphatic alley-oop throw down, but the Gilas responded quickly by reclaiming the lead through Kobe Paras’ strenuous lay-up, 26-24.
Few sticks remaining in the second quarter as Canada tried to escape by widening the gap with 12-0 run and made them to hold a double-digit lead at the end of the second quarter against the defending champions, 44-34.
Beginning the last halfway part of the opener, Philippines started strong through Ray Parks’ fast break lay-up coming from his defensive pressure steal, but Canada continued to show much composure as they still hold the double-digit lead at the end of the third canto, 66-54.
The fourth and last quarter seemed to open a door for Gilas as the young gunner Matthew Wright sustained his scorching hot shooting as he let the three-ball fly in a transition play and narrowed the gap to eight points, 68-60.
Maybe that play woke up the Canadian team as they rapidly answered back with their own terrific scoring prowess and extended their lead up to 15 points, 75-60.
Canada continued to break away in the middle of fourth quarter with the combination of their power plays, three-point shooting and defensive tactics, making their double-digit lead an insurmountable deficit for the Philippine team and finally grabbed the win, 90-77.
Kiefer Ravena led Gilas with 12 points off the bench, trailed by hardworking Ray Parks’ 11 points and inside and outside operator Carl Bryan Cruz with 10 points.
Gilas Pilipinas will face the team A of Chinese Taipei, lead by their naturalized player Quincy Davis. | Tretch Melarpes – PTV
The scores:
Canada 90 – Williamson 15, Haywood 12, Kapelan 12, Smith 9, Wood 9, Friesen 8, Sutherland 5, Keith 4, Mordan 2, Bachyski 2
Gilas 77 – Ravena 12, Parks 11, Cruz 10, Wright 9, Standhardinger 9, Jalalon 5, Myers 7, Paras 4, Pogoy 4, Ferrer 3, Belo 3, Jose 0
Quarterscores: 19-20; 44-34; 66-54, 90-77