GILAS Pilipinas leaned on its speed in a strong fourth quarter windup to repulse the tall Birstono Jazz-Diremta, 74-63, on Friday night for its second straight victory in its training camp at the Svyturio Arena in Klaipeda, Lithuania.
The Filipinos trailed, 30-36, at the half as they struggled to keep up with the big players of Jazz-Diremta.
Gilas assistant coach Josh Reyes said in his Twitter account @josh_reyes that they had “a hard time vs their very big and skilled post players.”
But after making the necessary adjustments, Gilas outscored Birstono, 27-11 in the final period, completely wiping out a five-point deficit for the huge comeback victory.
“Great comeback! Shot poorly today but adjusted and got them w/ our speed. Our (guys) just kept on fighting,” added Reyes, son of national coach Chot.
It was a huge follow-up win for the Filipinos, who beat Lithuanian club Klaipedos Neptunas, 81-76, on Thursday night.
The match is the second of six scheduled tune-up games for Gilas against top Lithuanian clubs and the under-20 national team as part of its continued buildup for the Fiba-Asia Men’s Championship in Manila this August.
Birstono placed 14th in the Lithuanian National League (NKL) this past season, while Neptunas ranked No. 4 in the Lithuanian League LKL.
Gilas resumes its twice-a-day practices on Saturday before taking on Kaunas LSU-Baltai on Sunday, 7 p.m. also at the Svyturio Arena.
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