The Philippines once again played gutsily in the world stage only to fall once again, for the third straight time, in the endgame.
World number three and Athens Olympic gold medalists Argentina escaped 2013 FIBA Asia runners-up the Philippines, 85-81, by the skin of their teeth Monday in Sevilla.
The Argentines, led by their big three in Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni, and Pablo Prigioni, unleashed a 10-0 run midway in the third quarter to erect a 61-51 lead the proved to insurmountable for the rest of the game.
Scola then extended the lead with a tip-in and a wide open three for a 68-53 lead, the biggest by Argentina in the game.
While the Argentine National Basketball Association (NBA) stalwarts were instrumental in facilitating the win, it was shooters Marcos Mata and Nicolas Laprovitolla who staved off all of Gilas’ run with cold-blooded treys.
Mata finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, and five three-pointers while Laprovitolla finished with 10 points and four assists to lead Argentina. The duo scored 21 of Argentina’s 42 points in the second half.
Argentina’s run came after trailing by as much as ten, 7-17, in the first quarter after Gilas drained in three treys from Jayson Castro (William) and Ranidel de Ocampo, as the Philippines finally started strong in the first quarter.
De Ocampo led Gilas with 18 points while Alapag, Gilas’ star in the second half, added 15 points. The Talk ‘n Text duo combined for nine of the Philippines’ 13 three-pointers.
It was a shootout since as Facundo Campazzo and veteran Olympian Walter Hermann combined for 12 points in a run that trimmed the lead to 22-25 to end the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Gilas erected another 10-point lead, 32-22, with long shots from de Ocampo and Paul Lee (Dalistan) but a 13-2 blitzkrieg erected by Prigioni and sharpshooter Mata brought Argentina to its first lead, 43-38, to end the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Scola played his a-game, bullying the bigs of Gilas in the shaded lane with defensive stops against Andray Blatche while Nocioni clamped down on de Ocampo, paving way for the offensive outbursts of Laprovitolla and Mata.
Appearing to have been deflated after Argentina’s clinical gameplay in the third canto, Gilas responded with an 8-0 run to start the final period with three pointers from de Ocampo and 5’7” point guard Jimmy Alapag, trimming Argentina’s lead, 69-71.
Still, Argentina would be bailed out by Laprovitolla and Mata every time Gilas makes a run.
A finger roll by Blatche and a 27-foot three-pointer by Alapag brought the Philippines to its closest gap, 81-82 and after a split pair of free throws by Nocioni, a chance for Gilas to tie or win the game opened with a full shotclock remaining.
However, Argentina parked the bus in the shaded lane as Alapag and Castro were forced to survey the field from outside.
With Argentina’s zone, the 5’11” Castro was forced to shoot a trey from the elbow but was rattled by defense of the 6’3” Prigioni. Castro was called for traveling as he jumped but fumble in his release. It was the last stand for Gilas as Nocioni swished two free throws to finish the game.
The 0-3 Gilas needs to win its two remaining games to book a ticket to the Round-of-16 stage. They will next face world number 17 and fellow winless Puerto Rico on September 3 at 7:30 PM, Manila time.
Puerto Rico, led by NBA skippers JJ Barea and Carlos Arroyo, and former Petron import Renaldo Balkman, were repulsed by Greece, 90-79, after the Argentina-Philippines game.
Box scores:
Argentina 85 – Scola 19, Mata 17, Laprovitolla 10, Herrmann 10, Campazzo 9, Nocioni 9, Prigioni 8, Gutierrez 3
Philippines 81 – De Ocampo 18, Alapag 15, Blatche 14, Castro 11, Norwood 6, Fajardo 6, Lee 6, Tenorio 3, Aguilar 2, Pingris 0, Chan 0
Quarter scores: 22-25, 43-38, 71-61, 85-81
