Dominican Republic pulls away late to beat Gilas

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine national men’s basketball team concluded their tuneup games for the 2014 FIBA World Cup on Tuesday morning, August 26 (PH time) with a loss to the Dominican Republic, 86-79, in Guadalajara, Spain. 

Coming off a win against Egypt on Monday, August 25, Gilas Pilipinas played Dominican Republic close all throughout the ball game.

Late in the fourth quarter, a three-pointer by Gabe Norwood got his team within one, 73-72. After the Dominicans extended their edge back to three, LA Tenorio managed to tie the contest once again with a 3-ball of his own, 75-all.

However, Edgar Sosa and Houston Rockets swingman Francisco Garcia responded impressively, racking up five quick points to create some separation between their team and Philippines with 2:14 to go. 

After Norwood hit another three to make it a one-possession game, Eloy Vargas was responsible for four straight markers by setting up Jack Martinez and hitting a basket of his own to push Dominican Republic’s lead to six, 84-78. 

Tenorio was then fouled, but hit only one charity which turned out to be Gilas’ last point for the contest.  

Norwood had 17 points to lead the Filipinos, while naturalized big man Andray Blatche put up 16 markers and grabbed 8 rebounds but shot only 6-of-18 from the field. 

Tenorio finished with 10 points and 4 assists, while Paul Dalistan and Gary David finished with 7 markers each. 

Jayson William missed his second straight game due to a swollen Achilles, while Beau Belga and Jared Dillinger registered DNPs.

Martinez and Vargas had 14 and 12 points, respectively for Dominican Republic, which also received 10 markers from Garcia.

As a team, Gilas shot 36% from the field and converted 12 shots from three-point range. However, the national team coughed up 14 turnovers.

Gilas Pilipinas managed to create some leeway in the early goings as Norwood, who finished with four triples, made two straight in the first quarter to put his club ahead, 13-7.  

However, thanks to Martinez’s strong play, Dominican Republic was able to knot up the contest at 21 after one quarter of play.

An ugly scenario took shape late in the second period when Ranidel De Ocampo was charged with an intentional foul for a hard hit. Afterwards, Dominican player James Feldeine tried to go after the Filipino player despite being off the playing court at the time.

Both teams eventually settled down. Not long after, consecutive 3-balls by Victor Liz spearheaded Dominican Republic to a 48-42 halftime lead. – Rappler.com