Gilas Pilipinas' naturalized center Andray Blatche finds himself free for an easy basket in the game against Japan Sunday in the second round of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship at the Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium in Changsa, China. Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette
MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas weathered shooting woes, defensive lapses and injury to naturalized center Andray Blatche to overcome Japan, 73-66, Sunday night as the second round of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship began at the Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium in Changsa, China. Blatche hurt his ankle in the first quarter and then again in the third period but still managed to lead Gilas with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Gilas Pilipinas now has a 2-1 record in Group E heading into a crucial showdown against unbeaten defending champion Iran (3-0) Monday. The biggest shot of the night came from Ranidel de Ocampo who buried a crucial three-pointer with 2:15 left to give the lead back to Gilas, 67-64, after Japan knotted the count following an 11-4 run. Calvin Abueva then made it more difficult for Japan to come back in the game after grabbing a crucial offensive rebound from the much taller Japanese frontliners and getting fouled. He sank both free throws to give Gilas a 69-64 lead. After a Japanese basket, Blatche responded with a putback that was goal-tended to give Gilas a 71-66 edge with 52.8 seconds left, virtually sealing the victory for the Filipinos. Gilas started hot, racing to a 6-0 lead with Blatche banging in pull-up jumpers. But Blatche got hit on his ankle by a Japanese player, forcing coach Tab Baldwin to pull him out. The Japanese took advantage and launched a 7-0 run. The Filipinos' offense turned cold in the second quarter as the Japanese erected a 29-19 lead courtesy of Ryumo Ono who nailed nine points off the bench. Gilas finally regained its bearing, blasting off a 10-0 run to tie the match at 29-all. It was nip-and-tuck from then on with Gilas only leading by a basket, 35-33, at halftime after a buzzer-beating drive to the basket by Terrence Romeo. Blatche aggravated his ankle injury early in the third quarter, forcing Baldwin to go for a smaller but quicker lineup. The change of pace apparently caught the Japanese flat-footed as the Filipinos took a 54-46 lead entering the fourth quarter. Although still visibly in pain, Blatche reentered the game, but Japan managed to keep the game close until the final minutes. Jayson Castro and Romeo finished with 12 points apiece while Abueva added 10 markers and six boards. In earlier Group E results Sunday, Iran crushed Hong Kong, 111-56 while India pulled down Palestine, 73-70. In Group F, Korea defeated Lebanon, 85-71.
