SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Gilas Pilipinas overcame a sluggish start and pulled off an impressive 21-0 blast to clobber Iraq for an 84-68 rout in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup on Friday, August 11 at Beirut, Lebanon.
Gilas big man Chris Standhardinger proved he could be one of the squad’s go-to-guys as he breathed life to Pilipinas’ offense and scored 12 points in the third period to give his squad the momentum they needed after starting slow.
Sharpshooter Terrence Romeo was silent in the first half but caught fire for a 7-0 blitz in the third quarter.
Iraq finally blew off the run in the last few minutes of the period and scored a triple but Gilas Pilipinas still showcased their dominance as they entered the last quarter with a 20-point lead, 60-40.
The boys of coach Chot Reyes managed to maintain the lead behind the offensive efforts of Gabe Norwood, Romeo and RR Pogoy to seal the deal for the the Philippines.
Romeo contributed 17 points to go with 4 assists and two rebounds while Filipino-German Standhardinger ended with 16 markers and 7 boards.
(READ: In epic slaying of China, Gilas Pilipinas shows it can and will fight back)
Cruz also chipped in 11 points as he executed a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Pogoy had 9 markers while Norwood ended with 8 points and 7 rebounds.
Despite the big win, Philippines struggled to find rhythm, letting Iraq bully them during the first few minutes of the match behind Kevin Galloway, who scored 11 points to let their opponents take the lead at the end of the first quarter, 17-19.
Gilas trailed by as many at 6 before Matthew Wright kickstarted Gilas’ offense to turn things around to a take a one-point lead into halftime, 32-31.
After shocking China and clinching an immaculate record of 2-0, Gilas Pilipinas bagged the top spot in Group B. The win against Iraq enabled Philippines to get a bye in the next round.
Gilas Pilipinas is set to face winless Qatar on Sunday. – Rappler.com
The scores:
PHILIPPINES (84) – Romeo 17, Standhardinger 16, Cruz 11, Pogoy 9, Norwood 8, Wright 8, Aguilar 5, Jalalon 4, Abueva 3, Almazan 2, Castro 1
IRAQ (68) – Galloway 23, Hamzah 12, Al-Khafaji 8, Ismael 6, Hameed 5, Hamad 5, Abdullah 3, Dhafer 2, Talib 2, Alfburi 2, Aljuboori 0, Alazawi 0
Quarterscores: 17-19, 32-31, 60-40, 84-68
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.