Gilas Pilipinas suffered a lopsided 103-68 loss to Turkey
Andray Blatche paced the Filipinos with 21 points, while Jayson Castro chipped in 15 markers against Turkey, a team which they might face in the knockout stages of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila.
Calvin Abueva and Jeff Chan finished with eight points apiece. LA Tenorio scored six markers, while Ray Parks had four.
Other Gilas Pilipinas contributors were Ryan Reyes who scored three points, Ranidel De Ocampo with two, and Japeth Aguilar with one point.
The Filipinos were able to keep in step with the Turkish in the first quarter, with Blatche carrying the scoring cudgels for Gilas Pilipinas with his 11 points.
But Turkey, led by former NBA player Semih Erden and 2015 NBA Draft pick Cedi Osman, went unstoppable on offense. The home team couldn’t miss on its first shots of the game after pulling off well-executed plays that produced open baskets mostly for Erden and Osman.
Turkey led after the first 10 minutes of play, 30-19.
Gilas Pilipinas struggled in the second quarter. As the 12 Giant Men scored one basket after another, the Filipinos went without a field goal for almost five minutes into the period, with two free throws by Calvin Abueva and a split by LA Tenorio as their only sources of points during that dry spell.
Gabe Norwood ended the drought with a jumper, but it came too late as Turkey already established a commanding 44-24 lead.
Turkey sat on a 57-32 cushion at the half.
After scoring just two points in the first half, Castro waxed hot and scored 13 markers in the third quarter alone.
Still, Turkey was already in full control of the game, seizing an insurmountable 30-point lead, 69-39, after an Erden dunk.
Turkey’s biggest lead stood at 37 points.
Gilas Pilipinas and Turkey will meet again on July 1 at Mall of Asia Arena for their final buildup before the Olympic qualifier that will tip off on July 5.
source: interaksyon.com
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