By REYNALD MAGALLON
The Gilas Pilipinas sixth man also delivered against Saudi Arabia.
The second and final assignment for Gilas in the fifth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers didn’t feel like a road game ˗ big thanks to the Filipino community in Jeddah.
They arrived at the King Abdullah Sports City in droves to show support to the national team.
The usually hostile road game felt exactly like home with the Filipinos cheering wildly behind Gilas – something that head coach Chot Reyes felt lit the fire in the Nationals to create some distance in the second half after struggling in the first two quarters.
“I think we got a lot of energy from the crowd. They gave us a huge boost. They just wouldn’t allow us to lose until we hit our stride,” Reyes said of the Filipinos in the venue.
Saudi Arabia got too close for comfort against Gilas in the first half when the Filipinos looked too eager to perform for the Filipino fans which resulted in some hurried shots and turnovers.
The PH quintet, somehow, settled down and launched a 12-0 spurt bridging the second and third quarters to take a 38-26 lead. RR Pogoy also found his touch from beyond the arc to hand Gilas the biggest lead at 54-36.
Saudi Arabia, however, just wouldn’t give up as it pushed itself within striking distance for the rest of the contest.
Anxious moments were even seen late in the fourth quarter when the Saudis finally broke through Gilas’ 10-point barrier, cutting the lead down to just eight, 69-61, with a 2:08 left in the clock before Dwight Ramos, Kai Sotto and Scottie Thompson made big plays down the stretch to restore order for Gilas.
“I thought they came out and they played hard, they came in with a very good game plan. We expected it. We knew the high quality of this team so we had mentally prepared ourselves to struggle, especially coming from a very tough game in Jordan and a tough trip,” Reyes said of the hard-earned win that stretched Gilas win streak to three.
“Luckily we stayed patient through our early struggles… finally hit some shots in the second half, in the third quarter and we were able to use our defense essentially to pull off the victory,” he added.
