MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas continued to struggle in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. It was pulverized by Tunisia, 86-67, in the classification round last night at the Wukesong Sports Arena in Beijing, China.
The lopsided defeat took away the outright 2020 Tokyo Olympics slot from the national men’s basketball team with just one game remaining in their schedule against Iran on Sunday night.
Tunisia surged to a 6-0 start before Paul Lee broke the dry spell for Gilas with a three-pointer. But the Tunisians connected with their outside hits as the lead grew to 27-10 after 10 minutes.
In the second period, the Tunisians took advantage of their three-point baskets to establish a 46-24 halftime edge.
It increased the lead to its largest at 30 points before the Gilas got its shot to fall in the fourth and cut the deficit to 20. The Tunisian, however, converted timely hits to preserve the victory.
Omar Abada top-scored with 16 points, including two triples. Michael Roll and Salah Mejri added 13 and 12 markers, respectively, while Makram Ben Romdhane and Mohamed Hadidane had 10 each for Tunisia.
Meanwhile, naturalized center Andray Blatche had another poor start for the Gilas before making his baskets late in the game to finish with 24 points.
at 30 points before the Gilas got its shot to fall in the fourth and cut the deficit to 20. The Tunisian, however, converted timely hits to preserve the victory.
Omar Abada top-scored with 16 points, including two triples. Michael Roll and Salah Mejri added 13 and 12 markers, respectively, while Makram Ben Romdhane and Mohamed Hadidane had 10 each for Tunisia.
Meanwhile, naturalized center Andray Blatche had another poor start for the Gilas before making his baskets late in the game to finish with 24 points.
Jeth Troy Rosario, Andy Mark Barroca and Jaymar Perez added eight, seven and six points, respectively.
BOX SCORE:
TUNISIA 86 – Abada 16, Roll 13, Mejri 12, Ben Romdhane 10, Hadidane 10, El Mabrouk 8, Mouhli 6, Ghyaza 5, Slimane 3, Knioua 2, Abbassi 1, Chennoufi 0.
PHILIPPINES 67 – Blatche 24, Rosario 8, Barroca 7, Perez 6, Fajardo 6, Bolick 5, Ravena 5, Lee 3, Aguilar 2, Pogoy 1, Norwood 0, Almazan 0.
Quarterscores: 27-10, 46-24, 67-39, 86-67./PN
