Gilas Pilipinas falls to China, dethroned as Asian Games champions | GMA News Online - GMA Network
The Philippines has been dethroned as Asian Games men’s basketball champions after Gilas Pilipinas suffered a 105-61 loss to China on Monday in the group stage in Japan.
The Philippines needed a win—or a loss by 37 points or fewer—to advance to the quarterfinals. However, the 44-point defeat eliminated Gilas from contention.
Jordan, which finished with a -5 point differential, and Saudi Arabia, at -11, emerged as the two best-ranked third-place teams to advance to the quarterfinals.
Gilas finished the group stage with a 1-2 record, while Bahrain and China advanced to the quarterfinals from their group.
Down 79-40 at the end of the third quarter, Gilas had a slight glimmer of hope after the Philippines trimmed the deficit to 81-46 at the 8:07 mark of the final frame. However, China responded with a 7-0 run to pull away and stretch its lead to 40.
Gilas could not find its groove in the comeback attempt, although Calvin Oftana put up a fight late in the game, scoring eight points in the final stretch. His efforts, however, could only bring the Philippines to within 98-58 with 1:16 remaining.
Cui Yongxi then drilled a triple to further extend China's lead, followed by another basket from Yu Jiahao with 22.6 seconds left. Jerrick Ahanmisi drained a three-pointer in a last-ditch effort, but Yu's final basket put the finishing touches on China's rout.
The Philippines trailed 66-30 at halftime as China scored 36 and 30 points in the first two quarters, respectively.
China was more aggressive throughout the game, shooting 51% from the field compared with the Philippines' 32%. The Chinese also dominated the rebounding battle, grabbing 55 rebounds to the Philippines' 36.
Oftana led the Philippines with 13 points, while Barefield added nine points, four assists, and one rebound.
Wang Junjie led China with 20 points.
The Philippines opened the group stage with an 89-85 loss to Bahrain before bouncing back with a 109-78 win over Kazakhstan.
