We’re back: Gilas blasts Japan

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) — What a statement.

Gilas Pilipinas showed it can bounce back from a tough loss, dealing Japan an emphatic 90-71 demolition to open the second round with a bang in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship on Monday, August 5 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Marcus Douthit asserted himself early and often while Filipino sniper Jeff Chan came alive in a searing 3rd quarter breakaway that gave the Philippines a huge cushion enough to secure their 3rd win in 4 games.

Both teams battled toe-to-toe in the early goings and two free-throws by Japan’s JR Sakuragi trimmed Gilas’ lead to 32-29 with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter.

But the Philippines scored 14 points in a 3-minute span capped by two freebies by LA Tenorio to take a 46-36 advantage at the break.

Learning their lessons from a meltdown against Chinese Taipei last Saturday, Gilas exploded just as the 3rd quarter began, with Chan firing back-to-back 3-pointers to push the home team ahead, 52-36, just 33 seconds into the period.

The Philippines did not let up, getting contributions from virtually everyone and building a lead as big as 77-51 after two free-throws by Douthit early in the final canto.

Douthit pounded JR Sakuragi and came away with 19 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals while Chan recovered from a paltry outing last time out with 16 points spiked by 4 triples.

Sakuragi finished with 19 points and 13 boards for Japan, who also got 17 markers and 9 rebounds from Kosuke Takeuchi.

The win allowed the Philippines to maintain the second-best record in Group E with a 2-1 card even as Japan dropped to 1-2. – Rappler.com

The scores:

Philippines (90) – Douthit 19, Chan 16, Tenorio 9, De Ocampo 9, Castro 7, Norwood 7, Aguilar 7, Alapag 6, David 5, Fonacier 3, Pingris 2, Fajardo 0

Japan (71) – Sakuragi 19, Takeuchi 17, Hiejima 9, Tsuji 8, Matsui 6, Kanamaru 4, Kurihara 2, Sakurai 2, Ota 2, Watanabe 2, Tanaka 0, Ichioka 0

Quarters: 17-14, 46-36, 75-51, 90-71