Nightmare for Gilas in FIBA World Cup

Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2019 03:20:08 +0000

Gilas Pilipinas failed to avoid a winless campaign in the FIBA World Cup after suffering a 95-75 loss to Tokyo Olympics-bound Iran Sunday night at the Wukesong Sport Arena in Beijing, China.

Robert Lee Bolick Jr. scored 15 points in Gilas stinging defeat to Iran. (AFP)

The Filipino cagers couldn’t sustain a hot start from three-point country as the Iranians imposed their will on their way to securing a place in the Olympics as the World Cup’s best-ranked Asian team.

Iran got help from Nigeria after defeating host China, 86-73, in their classification round match in Guangzhou.

Both teams had identical 2-3 records but it was Iran which earned a direct slot to Tokyo by virtue of a higher point differential over the Chinese cagers.

Seven-foot-two center Hamed Haddadi provided headaches for Gilas like in the past, finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds while another veteran Samad Nikkah Bahrami added 17.

While the Iranians whoop it up at center court immediately after the final buzzer, Gilas was left sulking at one final defeat to wrap up a nightmarish eight days in Foshan and Beijing.

Coach Yeng Guiao’s team began its struggles with blowout defeats to Italy and Serbia by a combined margin of 105 points before failing to protect a lead late in regulation to suffer an 84-81 overtime loss in Angola.

The woes continued in the Chinese capital, beginning with Friday’s 86-67 setback to Tunisia.

By going empty-handed, Gilas was denied of an opportunity to gain a slot in t
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