CHICAGO - Gilas Pilipinas' Cinderella run ended long before midnight struck in Riga, Latvia, where they crashed the semifinal round party of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).
About 23 minutes before the 8:30 PM (Manila time) tip-off versus Brazil, I was told via text message that Kai Sotto would not play due to a bruised rib.
Despite soldiering on with treatments and dealing with the discomfort and pain, suiting up simply wasn't possible.
"He is laboring and the ribs hurt too much every time he takes a step," a source with knowledge of Kai's injury told SPIN.ph.
READ: Cone laments Kai's absence as shorthanded Gilas falls to Brazil
To their credit, the rest of the national team held it together and even took a 33-27 advantage at halftime. The prospect of playing for an Olympic spot in Paris looked promising, just 20 minutes away from a finals berth versus either Latvia and Cameroon.
AND THEN THE ROOF CAVED IN.
In a brutal third quarter that irreversibly swung the tide in favor of Brazil, Gilas surrendered a 13-0 run. The Philippines had a nearly six-minute drought and scored just six points on the way to a 71-60 loss.
READ: Gilas denied Paris Olympics entry after running out of steam vs. Brazil
Entering the semis, the Filipinos averaged 91.5 points or 22.8 per quarter. The well run dry on Saturday night.
Minus the 7-foot-3 'Kaiju,' the offense didn't flow as freely and Gilas shot just 24-of-64 from the field (38 percent).
Against Latvia and Georgia, the nationals converted 51 percent of their threes. They swished only 7-of-19 from downtown (37 percent) against the Brazilians.
And after struggling early with their shots, Brazil settled down in the second half and finished at 28-of-70 from the field (40 percent) and 8-of-28 from beyond the arc (29 percent).
Without Sotto's rim protection, the Brazilians attacked the paint relentlessly, creating more open looks for their outside shooters.
REBOUNDING, TURNOVERS DOOMED GILAS.
Brazil outrebounded Gilas, 43-39, allowing them to control the pace and tempo. The Philippines' 15 turnovers were a burden too heavy to bear, too.
Despite a defense that zeroed in on him, making him work for every basket, Justin Brownlee turned in 15 points. But the Ginebra juggernaut was held to 6-of-16 shooting in 38 minutes and 11 seconds of play.
Dwight Ramos, June Mar Fajardo, and CJ Perez combined for 33 points, but other key contributors struggled as Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, and Carl Tamayo missed 11-of-14 field goals for a grand total of five points.
Bruno Caboclo paced the South American side with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while NBA veteran Marcelino Huertas added 13.
Just like that, a fairy tale that was written in the stars ended in a nightmare.
Twice, the Filipinos overcame incredible odds by beating Latvia, 89-80, and rallying past a 20-point deficit in a close 96-94 loss to Georgia.
Sadly, with all the chips on the table and an entire nation rooting, Gilas couldn't overcome the absence of Kai Sotto.
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