By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas opened its FIBA Asia Cup 2022 campaign on the wrong foot, bowing to the hot-shooting Lebanon, 95-80 at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 13.
A horrendous second quarter spelled doom to the Filipinos as they went ice-cold from the field allowing the Lebanese to create a sizeable margin they managed to protect despite the repeated rallies from Gilas in the second half.
Wael Arakji and Hayk Gyokchyan turned out to be the biggest thorns to the side of the Filipinos, finishing with 20 and 19 points, respectively, while naturalized player Jonathan Arlege had 19 and eight boards
Gilas, on the other hand, was paced by SJ Belangel who had 15 points across his name. Carl Tamayo and Ray Parks Jr. had 15 points apiece while Thirdy Ravena who sustained a bad cut above his eyebrow in the first half soldiered on and still contributed 10.
After a scintillating start that led to a 27-22 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Filipinos struggled heavily from the field in the second canto, even going without a single field goal in the first seven minutes.
It was also late in the second quarter when Thirdy Ravena sustained the bloody cut above his right eyebrow after a bad fall that saw him hit his face first on the ground after attempting for a chasedown block.
Lebanon easily took advantage of Gilas poor shooting to take a 46-39 lead at the half before going on with the offensive onslaught in the third frame where they exploded for 33 points behind Gyokchyan and Arakji.
Staring at a huge lead which went to as high as 22, 82-60 early in the fourth, an odd combination of Belangel, Rhenz Abando, Carl Tamayo, Will Navarro and JP Erram on the floor showed some life for Gilas as they unleashed a 14-1 run to come within nine, 83-74 midway through the final frame.
The rally, however, proved to be short lived as a pair of three-point plays from Gyokchyan and Arakji doused the rally and eventually shut the door on Gilas comeback hopes.
