Gilas, Boomers battle for Group B leadership
THE Philippines and Australia meet in an all-important game in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers today at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, with leadership in Group B at stake.
Both sporting a 4- 1 record, Gilas Pilipinas and the Boomers dispute the top spot in their scheduled 7: 30 p. m. encounter as they look to boost their respective causes in the tournament and build a winning momentum heading into the next round.
Gilas enters the contest off a high after routing Chinese Taipei, 93-71, in Taiwan on June 29 in its first game in the third window.
The Philippines had to dig deep in the first three quarters of the game against Chinese Taipei before pulling away in the fourth period to book the big victory.
June Mar Fajardo had a solid offensive game of 22 points to lead Gilas with Jayson Castro adding 15 points.
Gilas- returning Terrence Romeo finished with 14 points and six assists while naturalized player Andray Blatche had allaround numbers of 13 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
Australia, for its part, will try to bounce back after absorbing a shock 79-78 loss at the hands of Japan last Friday in Chiba.
Came out flat in the opening half of the match, the Boomers tried to rally back in the second half but just could not complete the task in the end.
Christopher Goulding paced Australia with 22 points in the loss.
National Basketball Association player Thon Maker had a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds while Nicholas Kay had 12.
Champion NBA guard Matthew Dellavedova, for his part, only had four points but had eight assists.
The Philippines and Australia will meet for the second time in the tournament after the latter took the first one, 84-68, in February in the second window.
Gilas is hoping to get a better result this time around, vowing to have learned from the first encounter.
“We need our run- and- gun offense to be effective because that’s what we missed in the first game against Australia. They were bigger than us, and they slowed the game down before. That’s why we couldn’t get into a good rhythm. They stopped our fast- break attack, so we need to do better with our run- and- gun. That’s the true game of Gilas Pilipinas,” Mr. Castro was quoted as saying by the official FIBA website.
He encouraged Filipino fans to rally behind the team and trek to the Philippine Arena even as he promised a good game that Gilas supporters can appreciate.
“I hope to see our fans give their all- out support for us… against Australia at the Philippine Arena. I am certain they will enjoy, since we’ve prepared even better this time around,” Mr. Castro said.
In the first game, Cameron Gliddon led the way with 16 points, followed by Angus Brandt’s 13.
Mr. Fajardo top-scored for Gilas in the defeat, finishing with 15 points while Matthew Wright had nine.
Roger Pogoy and Mr. Blatche had eight points each.
Also in Group B, Chinese Taipei and Japan, tied for third spot with identical 1-4 records, jostled today in Taiwan to determine who gets to join the Philippines and Australia to the next round of the Qualifiers.
The Philippines- Australia match will be shown live on ESPN5 with livestream on ESPN5.com.