Philippines routs Qatar

By Adrian Stewart Co

The Philippine men’s national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, kept their 2019 FIBA World Cup hopes alive after dominating Qatar, 84-46, yesterday morning (local time) in their qualifier game at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall in Doha, Qatar.

Andray Blatche made a triumphant return to the Philippine squad with 17 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists; while Marcio Lassiter chipped in 14 markers on perfect 4-of-4 three-point shooting. Paul Lee also made his presence felt with 13 points, including three outside hits; with Jayson Castro and Japeth Aguilar contributing double-digit output scoring 12 and 11, respectively.

The victory puts the team at 6-5 as they face Kazakhstan in their crucial final qualifier game on Sunday.

Both teams went toe-to-toe early in the opening quarter with the Gilas clinging to a slim 15-11 lead before slowly pulling away in the second period, with shots from Aguilar and Blatche, for a 41-31 halftime score.

The Philippines then went on a run in the third period with Lee and Blatche each hitting two triples, widening the lead to 20 points. It later grew to its largest distance at 38 points with Lassiter and John Paul Erram connecting trifectas.

Gilas are currently fourth place in Group F, which means qualification is incumbent on how they compare to the fourth place team in Group E, Lebanon.

Lebanon currently holds a 6-4 record. Their next game, against New Zealand, will be played overnight, after press time./ASC, WDJ