Gilas Scores First Win in Jones Cup After Shocking Chinese Taipei Blue

Some may call this an upset considering both teams’ rosters, but this should serve as a huge morale booster for the Philippine national team.

Gilas scored its first win in the Jones Cup after shocking Chinese Taipei Blue, 88-72, at the Taipei Peace International Basketball Hall in Taipei on Sunday night.

Gilas opened the account with a 7-0 flurry before CT Blue inched closer and even took the lead, 13-12, later in the first quarter. Gilas would somehow reclaimed control and was up, 23-22, after the period.

Gilas then tried to pull away in the second period, opening a 40-30 cushion only for CT Blue to go on a 10-0 run to tie the game, 40-all.

Gilas restored order by ending the second quarter with seven unanswered points for a 47-40 halftime lead.

Gilas kept CT Blue at bay in the second half and finally pulled away for good in the fourth quarter by limiting the host side to only 11 points in the final 10 minutes.

Matt Wright and Chris Standhardinger each chipped in 17 points with the latter also grabbing 15 rebounds for a double-double alongside three assists, one block, and one steal for Gilas, which bounced back from a stinging defeat to Canada 150 on Saturday.

Kiefer Ravena and Mike Myers came close to their own double-doubles as Ravena made 15 points and eight rebounds while Myers finished with 11 rebounds and nine points.

Mike Tolomia played for the first time in the tournament and finished with four crucial points that gave Gilas the lead for good late in the second period.

Lu Zheng-Ru led Chinese Taipei Blue with 16 points, one board, and one block.

Gilas will face the other Taiwanese team in the tournament, Chinese Taipei White on Monday at the said venue.

Box Scores:

Philippines 88-Standhardinger 17, Wright 17, Ravena 15, Pogoy 10, Myers 9, Cruz 6, Ferrer 5, Tolomia 4, Jalalon 3, Parks 2, Belo 0, Paras 0

Chinese Taipei Blue 72-Lu 16, P.H. Chou 14, Y. Chou 13, Davis 11, Liu 6, Hu 5, Su 4, Chang 3, Tzeng 0, P.C. Chou 0, Yu 0

Quarterscores: 23-22, 47-40, 67-61, 88-72 (Ivan Saldajeno/PNA)