Andray Blatche bounced back from a rough first half to finish with 28 points and 12 rebounds while gunner Jeff Chan added 17, including four threes, to lead a gallant Gilas Pilipinas stand.
Gilas came back from eight points down in the fourth period to go into overtime. Blatche scored all seven of the Philippines’ points in OT but fell just short near the end.
Blatche gave Gilas the lead, 75-73, with two minutes left in the extra period but Croatia got a big basket from 7-foot-2 center Ante Tomic and some immaculate free throw shooting from Bojan Bogdanovic to restore a four-point lead, 79-75.
But Blatche wasn’t done, hitting a three with just 5.4 seconds remaining to open the door ever so slightly for Gilas but could not get the job done in the end.
The Filipinos fell behind early after Croatia scored 13 unanswered points in the opening period to open up a 17-4 lead.
With Blatche struggling, missing six of his first seven shots, and the outside shots not falling, the Philippines limped to a 23-9 deficit after the opening 10 minutes.
But they played some trademark Philippine basketball in the second quarter.
Marc Pingris brought a spark early while Gilas coach Chot Reyes matched Croatia’s size with a Blatche and June Mar Fajardo combination in the frontcourt to stem the tide until the Gilas shooters finally got going.
Chan knocked down the first three-pointer for the Philippines and Jimmy Alapag wowed the crowd with a successful four-point play from a few steps behind the three-point line.
Chan closed out with another three that barely beat the buzzer to cap a 7-0 run for the Filipinos.
The Philippines trailed by just six, 37-31, at the half with Blatche, who shot 3-for-13 in the first half, Chan and Pingris leading a balanced Gilas offense with six points apiece.
The Philippines’ naturalized star did much better in the third, scoring eight points on 3-for-4 shooting as he gave a glimpse of his full offensive arsenal.
He pump faked his defender and stretched in for a layup plus the foul early in the period and later scored five straight points on a three and a two as he helped lead the Philippines to within four, 50-46.
After a dunk from Croatian big man Luka Zoric, Jayson Castro brought the team to within three points, 52-49, before getting some tough breaks to end quarter.
Castro, who was knocked off balance, was whistled for a technical foul for flopping. Croatia’s Krunoslav Simon hit both free throws and Damir Markota beat the buzzer with a three to give the Europeans a 57-49 lead entering the fourth.
True to its battlecry of ‘Puso’, Gilas refused to go away in the fourth.
They traded baskets with Croatia but still trailed by eight points, 64-56, halfway through the period before making their move.
Chan hit another three-pointer, Pingris toughed it out for two underneath and Blatche connected on another trey to tie the game at 64-apiece.
Zoric hit two free throws to give Croatia a 66-64 lead but Chan was fouled taking a three from the corner and he took care of all three attempts to give the Filipinos its first taste of the lead, 67-66, with 2:49 remaining.
Blatche followed it up with a jumper that gave them a 69-66 advantage with 2:20 left on the clock.
But Croatia got a big three from Simon to tie the game and Saric scored on a putback to give them back the lead at 71-69.
Castro, though, came up big for the Filipinos, driving and scoring with 39 seconds left to ensure the game would go to an extra period.
The scores:
Croatia (81) – Bogdanovic 26, Simon 12, Saric 10, Tomic 8, Markota 5, Ukic 5, Lafayette 4, Rudez 4, Zoric 4, Babic 3.
Gilas Pilipinas (78) – Blatche 28, Chan 17, Pingris 10, Castro 6, De Ocampo 5, Alapag 4, Tenorio 2, Norwood 2, Fajardo 2, Lee 2, Aguilar 0.
Quarterscores: 23-9, 37-31, 57-49, 71-71 (reg.), 81-78 (OT).
source: interaksyon.com
