MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas reached the end of the road of its Paris Olympics bid.
A poor third quarter doomed the Philippines as it crashed out of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia, after a 71-60 loss to world No. 12 Brazil in the semifinals on Saturday, July 6.
Ending the group stage as the highest scoring team with an average of 91.5 points, the Philippines got limited to just 6 points in the third period as it bid goodbye to its lofty goal of reaching the Olympics for the first time since 1972.
Former NBA players Bruno Caboclo and Marcelo Huertas proved to be a thorn in the side of a Philippine squad that badly missed the services of injured big man Kai Sotto, helping Brazil advance to the finale.
Caboclo capitalized on the absence of Sotto and finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Huertas fired 13 points – 9 coming in the fourth quarter – on top of 7 assists.
Justin Brownlee bled for his production as the Brazil defense held him to just 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists – numbers that are well below his averages of 27 points, 8.5. rebounds, and 8.5 assists in the group stage.
Dwight Ramos put up 13 points, while June Mar Fajardo posted a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double in the loss as Brazil improved to 5-0 against the Philippines.
Browlee and Ramos scored 13 points and 8 points, respectively, in the first half to give the Philippines a 33-27 halftime lead before Brazil flipped the script thanks to a dominant 24-6 blast in the third quarter.
Brazil 71 – Caboclo 15, Huertas 13, Dias 10, Y. Santos 8, De Paula 8, Meindl 7, Louzada 3, G. Santos 3, Felicio 2, Benite 2.
Philippines 60 – Brownlee 15, Ramos 13, Fajardo 10, Perez 10, Newsome 5, Aguilar 4, Tamayo 3, Oftana 0, Quiambao 0.
Quarters: 12-22, 27-33, 51-39, 71-60.
– Rappler.com
