CHICAGO - Up two, 80-78, and with ball possession in the final 1:12 of play, Gilas Pilipinas had the golden opportunity to end an ignominious 44-year losing streak against powerhouse China at the Asian Games.
Seventy-two seconds. Three possessions.
It was drama in its highest form, played in front of a full-house hoops hall, right on the corner of suspense and excitement. As the climax neared, the complex exercise of basketball was reduced into a simple matter of execution.
Protect the ball, Create a good, clean look on offense. And then make stops on the defensive end.
Gilas went 0-for-3 on those rudimentary tasks.
And, puff, just like that, China narrowly escaped with a heart-breaking 82-80 victory that will sting Filipinos from all walks of life for a long, long time.
Stanley Pringle started the series of unfortunate events with a turnover in the final 51 ticks which led to a game-tying fastbreak layup by Zhao Rui. In the ensuing play Jordan Clarkson missed a contested jumper and then fouled Zhao, whose two free throws sealed the deal.
In a close game such as this one, the judgement gets clouded, the heart could wilt, and the toughness may surrender to the pressure.
Unfortunately for us, despite Gilas' determined stand, the Chinese didn't fold like lawn chairs. According www.fiba.basketball, the Red China squad has been practicing since May 15. And their cohesion showed.
They sank 19 of their 37 two-point field goals, a high 51.9 percent. They controlled the boards, 49-47, and while they tanked beyond the arc (7-of-29 from 24 percent), the Chinese finished with 23 made free throws, 12 more than Gilas.
Even after Gilas took a momentum-shifting 80-77 bubble in the endgame, China didn't panic. They stayed true to form and ran their sets on both ends of the floor like a well-oiled machine.
In contrast, Gilas looked like a team that was assembled on short notice and whose best player only had four practice sessions under his belt.

Pringle showed the moxie that epitomizes the Filipino spirit, finishing with 14 points. But his late turnover, the last of five miscues, gave China a new lease on life.
Clarkson played like Jordan Clark Kent, tallying 28 points, eight rebounds and four assists. But in the final 46 seconds, with Gilas down only a pair, he hoisted a contested, ill-advised jumper with still 11 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Why?
Maybe he wanted a 2-for-1. I just think it was poor time management.
Yeng Guiao coached Gilas superbly. In his final timeout, his marching orders were clear: melt the 24-second shot clock until there were eight ticks before making a move. He implored for defensive stops.
His instructions were not heeded. This loss is not on him.
China wasn't as good as advertised but Zhou Qi was a beast with 25 points, 12 rebounds and all seven of his team's blocked shots. Wang Zhelin acquitted himself well with 13 points and seven boards but the celebrated duo of Ding Yanyuhang and Sun Menghui combined only for 13 points, five assists and three turnovers.
Gilas' shooting was, to put in mildly, horrendous - 18-of-46 from two-point range (39 percent) and 11 of 34 from long distance (32 percent).
The fact that they somehow hung with the stratospheric Chinese was a tribute to the spine and the fearless resistance that guys such as Beau Belga, Paul Lee, John Paul Erram and Christain Standhardinger put in.
In the end, nothing can sanitize the ugliness of this loss, one that probably knocked us out of medal contention because instead of facing Thailand in the elimination round we now get the dangerous South Koreans.
But for a day at least, Gilas showed that while glory wasn't achieved, guts can go a long way.
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