Gilas winning streak ends after losing to South Korea in Jones Cup

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED)－Gilas Pilipinas could not find their rhythm from beyond the arc as they fell to South Korea, 83-72, in the 2017 William Jones Cup on Wednesday, July 19 at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium in Taipei, Taiwan. 

The Korean crew looked to pull away early in the second half as they sank their outside shots to establish a double-digit cushion heading into the final frame. 

Down by as much as 16, Gilas locked down defensively in the 4th and sparked a late rally to go within 4, thanks to a putback slam by Mike Myers, who finished with a double-double of 18 points and 17 boards. 

But South Korea maintained endgame composure and held off the Philippines’ comeback to wrap the game up and move ahead of the Jones Cup ladder with a 4-1 win-loss card.

The Philippine team missed their first 11 3-pointers before Jio Jalalon broke the ice late in the 3rd to give Gilas its only triple of the match. 

The national squad shot just 1-of-26 from 3-point area the whole game. 

Jalalon likewise finished with 18 points on 3-of-4 shooting to go with 3 rebounds and an assist, while Christian Standhardinger added 16 markers and 5 boards off the bench.

Kiefer Ravena had 8 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds, while Matthew Wright, who has been a leading scoring contributor this tournament, was limited to a 4-point production. 

Sekeun Oh and Lee Junghyun dished out 14 points apiece for the Korean squad. 

Gilas, which now falls to a 3-2 slate, will next take on Iraq on Thursday, July 20 at 5 pm. – Rappler.com