The Philippine national men’s basketball team tried to rally from 15 points down but fell short to succumb to South Korea, 83-72, in the 2017 William Jones Cup on Wednesday at Taipei Peace International Basketball Hall.
Gilas Pilipinas simply struggled to break Korea’s 1-2-2 zone defense, and the team’s atrocious 1-26 shooting from beyond-the-arc didn’t help against its Asian rivals who pounced on the Philippines from start to finish.
But despite that, Gilas Pilipinas managed to threaten for a comeback. After trailing 66-51 to enter the fourth frame, the squad managed to trim its deficit to just four, 73-69, after a run punctuated by a Mike Myers putback slam.
But the Koreans countered with four straight points to douse Gilas Pilipinas’ rally.
Myers collected 18 points and 17 rebounds in another impressive double-double for Gilas Pilipinas.
Jio Jalalon finished with 18 points and three boards as he ignited Gilas Pilipinas during times when Korea was dominating the game.
Christian Standhardinger tallied 16 points five boards. But the team’s missing link was clearly Matthew Wright who, after averaging 15.5 points in the team’s first four games, only had four points.
Gilas Pilipinas now sports a 3-2 card after seeing its three-game win streak snapped by the Koreans who improved to 4-1.
The Philippines will next take on Iraq on Thursday.
