MANILA, Philippines, February 17 ------ Gilas Pilipinas fell victim to a clinical Egypt side in an 86-55 loss to end the Doha International Cup at the QU Sports & Events Complex in Qatar on Sunday, February 16 (Monday, February 17, Manila time).
Turnovers and spotty shooting proved to be Philippines’ undoing as it wrapped up its campaign in the four-team tournament with back-to-back losses and finished with 1-2 record. Justin Brownlee wound up as the only Filipino player in double figures with 18 points to go with 5 rebounds — a stark contrast to the Egyptians’ balanced attack that saw four of their players score in twin digits.
The Pharaohs turned a close encounter into a blowout after outscoring Gilas, 21-9, in the second quarter, where they scattered 4 of their 11 total three-pointers. Omar Oraby knocked down back-to-back triples to cap that stretch as Egypt entered the halftime break ahead 39-28 before it proceeded to dominate the Philippines the rest of the way. Ehab Amin paced the Egyptians, who swept the tournament that also featured Lebanon and Qatar, with 20 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds. Amr Zahran tossed in 12 points, and Youssef Aboushousha contributed 11 points. Oraby added 10 points for the Pharaohs, who imposed their size and heft with a 47-32 rebound advantage and 11 steals.
Following its 74-71 comeback win over Qatar, the Filipinos clung to the hope of staging another fourth-quarter fightback as they trailed 45-57 going into the final salvo. But Amin took the fight out of the Philippines, pouring 11 points built on 3 three-pointers in the last frame.
Carl Tamayo had 9 points, while Dwight Ramos, Scottie Thompson, and AJ Edu tallied 6 points each for Gilas, which shot 21-of-56 (37%) from the field, including 4-of-18 (22%) from deep, and 9-of-16 from the free throw line (56%). The Filipinos also recorded as many turnovers (16) as assists (16) in the loss that highlighted the chinks in their armor as they adjust to life without injured star big man Kai Sotto. In its three games, which included a 75-54 loss to Lebanon, the Philippines averaged 18.3 turnovers and shot just 24% (15-of-62) from beyond the arc.
Dealt a reality check, the Filipinos hope to get back on track as they face Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in a pair of road games on February 20 and 23, respectively, to conclude the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers. The Philippines has already secured its Asia Cup spot with a 4-0 slate in Group B. Lebanon concluded its Doha run with a 2-1 record, while Qatar went winless.
The Scores:
Egypt 86 – Amin 20, Zahran 12, Aboushousha 11, Oraby 10, Taha 8, Mahmoud 7, Metwaly 5, Abdelgawad 5, Elmekawi 4, Yasser 2, Nasr 2, Shehata 0.
Philippines 55 – Brownlee 18, Tamayo 9, Thompson 6, Ramos 6, Edu 6, Fajardo 5, Quiambao 3, Newsome 1, Perez 1, Malonzo 0, Oftana 0, Amos 0.
Quarters: 18-19, 39-28, 57-45, 86-55.
Source: rappler.com
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