THE Philippines finished ninth in the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball tournament in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan - its worst finish in the history of the competition.
Gilas Pilipinas failed to advance to the quarterfinals after its 105-61 loss to China on Monday, closing its stint in the tournament where they were the defending champions on an embarrassing note.
READ Gilas bows out of Asiad after 44-point loss to China
Previously, the Philippines’ worst finish came in the 2014 edition where a team coached by Chot Reyes and reinforced by naturalized player Marcus Douthit placed seventh in the competition in Incheon, Korea.
This time, however, Gilas didn’t even reach the knockout stage after ending the group stage with a 1-2 win-loss record, failing to claim one of last two places in the quarterfinals that goes to the two best third-placers of the tournament.
The Philippines had the worst point differential among the third placers at -17, with Jordan and Saudi Arabia advancing to the knickout rounds due to their -5 and -11 point differential, respectively.
Perhaps the result that Gilas most regrets was its debut against Bahrain where they lost by four points, 89-85, last September 11.
Gilas Pilipinas got back on track when it beat Kazakhstan, 109-78, but failed to complete the job with that 44-point defeat against China.
The all-PBA squad was formed for the Asiad separate from the FIBA team, with the unavailability of Kai Sotto and overseas-based players Dwight Ramos, AJ Edu, Carl Tamayo, and Kevin Quiambao prompting the shift.
This Gilas version also decided not to enlist the other mainstays from the PBA like Scottie Thompson, Juan Gomez de Liano, and Cjay Perez for the Asiad.
Gilas Pilipinas also sorely missed Justin Brownlee due to multiple injuries that have kept him out since the fourth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Another naturalized player, Bennie Boatwright, was also groomed to join Gilas in the Asiad, but his naturalization wasn't completed early enough to make him eligible for the competition.
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