by Jonas Terrado
Gilas Pilipinas remained a team that is still searching for the right chemistry before the fifth window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers after dropping a 74-68 decision to Lebanon in Friday’s scrimmage at the Epsilon Chi Center inside the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman.
The national cagers tried to erase an 18-point halftime deficit behind Marcio Lassiter and Japeth Aguilar only to pay for their defensive lapses in the final two minutes which the Lebanese side capitalized to claim the first of their scheduled two tune-up matches.
It was the second loss in three games for Gilas, which split its two heated scrimmages against Jordan.
Gilas and Lebanon complete their own two-game series on Sunday night at the Meralco Gym in Ortigas.
Sunday’s tune-up will be Gilas’ last before the World Cup Qualifiers resume with home matches against Kazakhstan on Nov. 30 and Iran on Dec. 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Aguilar finished with 16 points while Lassiter once again displayed why his shooting has been existent in the exhibition series by scoring 11.
But Gilas encountered trouble against the Lebanese frontline led by Ali Haidar and Ater Madok, who made life difficult for Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter in the paint.
Haidar topscored with 20 points while Majok added 13, including a two-handed slam that settled the final score with 36 seconds left that came after Fajardo failed to control the rebound.
Lebanon is using the tune-up games for its own preparation for the World Cup Qualifiers. The Lebanese is slated to face South Korea on Nov. 29 in Busan before traveling to Foshan to take on China on Dec. 2.
There was no repeat of the tension that forced Jordan to walkout of Wednesday’s tune-up at Meralco, though Lebanon coach Slobodan Subotic confronted Lassiter in the third quarter after the latter apparently hit Ali Mehzer after a made basket.
Lassiter and Subotic eventually patched things up after the final buzzer.
