By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas gave Turkey a huge scare before losing steam in the end to absorb an 84-73 defeat in their tuneup game at the Besiktas Akatlar Culture and Sports Complex in Istanbul in the wee hours of Friday, June 28 (Manila time) as part of its preparations for Olympic Qualifying tournament in Latvia.
The Filipinos struggled to find the mark from deep all-game long but kept themselves within striking distance up until the final minute before the hosts needed a clutch triple from sharpshooter Tarik Biberovic to finally fend off their hard-fighting visitors.
Bibevoric proved to be the biggest thorn to the side of Gilas, firing 23 points built on five triples – none bigger than the one which he drilled with 51 seconds left that gave Turkey enough separation 81-73.
Despite trailing by double digits multiple times in the second half, Gilas made repeated rallies behind the efforts of Justin Brownlee and June Mar Fajardo who led the way for the Filipinos.
Brownlee finished with 21 points although he only shot 1-of-7 from the deep while Fajardo had a double-double of 17 points and 101 rebounds.
It was also the two who starred in Gilas’ last ditch comeback bid, anchoring an 8-2 run inside the final five minutes to cut a once 76-65 deficit to just three, 78-73 with a little over a minute left.
Back-to-back hits from Fajardo and Brownlee triggered the run although Bibevoric provided an answer with a pair of free throws after picking up Kai Sotto’s fifth and final foul, giving Turkey some breathing space, 78-69.
That, however, hardly discouraged Gilas as Fajardo nailed a jumper before Brownlee soared for a one-handed dunk to keep it close, 78-73.
Bibevoric dagger trey and a crucial turnover on the other end, however, took the fight out of Gilas comeback hopes.
Dwight Ramos finished with four points but had eight rebounds and seven assists while Carl Tamayo and Kai Sotto had seven apiece.
Can Korkmaz added 12 for the hosts.
Still despite the loss, it was still an encouraging sign for Gilas especially how it was able to keep in step with the taller foes, particularly in the first half, despite shooting only five triples. Gilas only trailed by three, 21-24 at the end of the opening frame, and even cut it to just two in the intermission 40-42.
While Gilas’ defense displayed some stretches of brilliance, the Nationals ability to close out to shooters still has a lot to be desired after Turkey buried 15 triples in total. Sotto also failed to make significant impact after being saddled with foul trouble, playing for only 19 minutes in the contest
Up next for Gilas is the last of its tuneup schedule against world No. 15 Poland before heading to Riga, Latvia.
The scores:
Turkey (84) — Biberovic 23, Korkmaz 12, Sanli 9, Sipahi 9, Osmani 8, Ozdemiroglu 7, Haltali 6, Kabaca 3, Yilmaz 3, Bas 2, Yasar 2, Ilyasoglu 0.
Philippines (73) — Brownlee 21, Fajardo 17, Sotto 7, Tamayo 7, Newsome 5, Ramos 4, Aguilar 4, Perez 3, Oftana 3, Quiambao 2, Amos 0.
Quarterscores: 24-21; 42-40; 64-56; 84-73.
