By Jose Miguel Villanueva
The Philippine national men’s basketball team failed to overcome Palestine in a 75-73 defeat Wednesday during the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship at the Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium in Changsha, China.
Gilas Pilipinas put on a 15-point lead early in the match but was overtaken by Palestine during the second half of the match.
With three minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, Terrence Romeo and JC Intal led in firing off triples as Gilas continued to approach victory with 71-62.
But Abu Shamala slowed Gilas as he put the Palestinian squad on the lead, 72-71, with 1:34 remaining
Gilas entrusted its fate to Blatche who put the team back on the lead, 73-72, but a Sakakini 3-pointer with 15 seconds left sealed the victory for Palestine.
A valiant effort by Gilas' Andre Blatche with 21 points and 12 rebounds was unable to carry Gilas to victory, meanwhile both Terrence Romeo and Jayson Castro posted underwhelming records with only 11 and 10 points respectively.
Palestine’s Abu Shamala, who played a full 40-minute game and was not subbed out at all, led his team with 26 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Sani Sakanini, who was also in play for the entire game’s duration, posted 22 points and 13 rebounds.
An unexpected loss for Gilas, who is ranked by FIBA as 31 in the world, to the unranked Palestinians, puts the Philippine national team in a precarious start in the FIBA Asia Championships. Gilas will have a chance against to redeem themselves as they will clash against Hong Kong on Thursday, Sept. 23, and Kuwait on Friday, Sept. 24. The Millennial Post
With three minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, Terrence Romeo and JC Intal led in firing off triples as Gilas continued to approach victory with 71-62.
But Abu Shamala slowed Gilas as he put the Palestinian squad on the lead, 72-71, with 1:34 remaining
Gilas entrusted its fate to Blatche who put the team back on the lead, 73-72, but a Sakakini 3-pointer with 15 seconds left sealed the victory for Palestine.
A valiant effort by Gilas' Andre Blatche with 21 points and 12 rebounds was unable to carry Gilas to victory, meanwhile both Terrence Romeo and Jayson Castro posted underwhelming records with only 11 and 10 points respectively.
Palestine’s Abu Shamala, who played a full 40-minute game and was not subbed out at all, led his team with 26 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. Sani Sakanini, who was also in play for the entire game’s duration, posted 22 points and 13 rebounds.
An unexpected loss for Gilas, who is ranked by FIBA as 31 in the world, to the unranked Palestinians, puts the Philippine national team in a precarious start in the FIBA Asia Championships. Gilas will have a chance against to redeem themselves as they will clash against Hong Kong on Thursday, Sept. 23, and Kuwait on Friday, Sept. 24. The Millennial Post