GILAS Pilipinas showed grit against mighty Serbia to trail by 11, 45-34, at the half of their clash in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade on Thursday (Manila time) at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall.
The young Filipinos, playing without starting guard Dwight Ramos, displayed great resolve as they kept Serbia within sight at halftime by answering each run by the hosts with one of their own.
Gilas crawled its way back from an early 11-2 deficit and a 32-18 hole as the boys of coach Tab Baldwin hardy looked daunted by the world's No. 5 ranked team.
Ange Kouame led Gilas with nine points, five rebounds, and two blocks, while Justine Baltazar and Jordan Heading each drilled two three-pointers to keep the hosts within sight.
A cause for concern for the Philippines, however, is Kai Sotto already picking up two fouls in the first half.
Ognjen Dobric waxed hot for Serbia with 14 points in 4-of-6 shooting from deep, while Boban Marjanovic has already got 11 points and five rebounds.
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