The Philippine national men’s basketball capped their campaign in the 37th William Jones Cup with a 96-67 rout of host Chinese Taipei’s B-team that clinched the silver medal for Gilas Pilipinas on Sunday at the Xinzhuang Gym in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Gary David scored 22 points to pace Gilas Pilipinas, which finished with a 6-2 record, good enough for second place behind champions Iran.
Chinese Taipei A (5-2) still has a chance to tie the Philippines, but Gilas will hold the tiebreaker due to the winner-over-the-other rule.
Jayson Castro posted 15 points, four assists and five steals while Moala Tautuaa chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds for the team. Ranidel De Ocampo also finished in double figures, finishing with 10.
Calvin Abueva scored eight points in just over six minutes of play before coming off the floor after a bad fall in the first quarter and never returning into contest.
The young Chinese Taipei B squad pulled off a surprise to open the game, coming out and taking a 10-2 advantage over the more experienced Philippine side in the opening minutes.
But Castro, who knocked down two three-pointers, and Abueva came out and scored eight points apiece as they led Gilas back to within striking distance.
Abueva, though, suffered his scare late in the period after being on the receiving end of a foul while driving to the basket.
The tough Alaska forward put his defender on skates with a nice crossover but was met by the help defense inside. He fell on his tailbone and was unable to get up for a few moments although he was eventually able to walk off on his own.
The Filipinos scored the last six points of the quarter to take a 24-21 lead at the end of the first.
Gilas Pilipinas finally brought out their A-game in the second quarter where they overwhelmed the hometown team with a 19-2 run that featured scoring from eight different Filipino players. That allowed the Philippine margin to breach the 20-point mark, 45-25, late in the second quarter.
The Filipinos outscored their opponents, 26-11, to enter the half with a 50-32 advantage.
Castro led the team with 12 first half points.
David, who only scored four points over the first two periods, then came out with an explosive performance in the third quarter.
He set the tone by knocking down his first two jumpers from off the break and never let up as he pounded Chinese Taipei with 16 big points as Gilas all but put it away with leads of as high as 29, 82-53.
The Philippines let up a little bit in the fourth quarter but never enough to give the Taiwanese a real chance.
The scores:
Gilas Pilipinas (96) – David 22, Castro 15, Tautuaa 12, De Ocampo 10, Abueva 8, Intal 7, Ramos 7, Rosario 6, Thoss 6, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Taulava 0.
Gilas Pilipinas (96) – David 22, Castro 15, Tautuaa 12, De Ocampo 10, Abueva 8, Intal 7, Ramos 7, Rosario 6, Thoss 6, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Taulava 0.
Chinese Taipei B (67) – Chien WJ 18, Hsiao 14, Lin WH 9, Lee TW 9, Huang 8, Lee CJ 3, Liu 2, Chen 2, Lin CW 2, Chou 0, Chien CY 0, Cheng 0.
Quarterscores: 24-21, 50-32, 82-53, 96-67.
Source: InterAksyon.com
