Gilas Pilipinas put up a good fight against 16th-ranked Croatia and lost by just 3 points, 81-78, in its first game in the FIBA World Cup in Spain on Saturday.
The Philippine national team, ranked 34th in FIBA, rallied from a 14-point deficit, 23-9, at the end of the first quarter to bring it down to just 6, 37-31, at the half.
Gilas kept it a close game in the 2nd half and took its first taste of the lead in the last 3 minutes of the 4th quarter after Jeff Chan hit all 3 free throws to make it 67-66 with 2:49 to go.
A drive by naturalized player Andre Blatche upped the lead to 3, 69-66, with 2:20 minutes left.
After a timeout by Croatia, they got 2 straight baskets to lead by 2, 71-69.
A jump shot by Jayson Castro put the score at 71-all with 35 seconds remaining.
The Philippines had a chance to win it but Jeff Chan missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, it was close throughout but Croatia shot better, especially at the free-throw line, to beat the Philippines.
Castro had a chance to force a 2nd overtime but his 3-point shot at the buzzer missed.
The game marked the Philippines' return to the world championships, 36 years after it last competed in the 1978 FIBA Worlds. -- with reports from TJ Manotoc, ABS-CBN News
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
