June 28 ------ GILAS Pilipinas absorbed an 84-73 loss to Turkey in Istanbul in the first of two tune-up games in Europe as part of the final stretch of its preparation for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Gilas couldn’t contain Turkey’s three-point shooting and struggled to make its own shots from afar, yet was down by only five points, 73-78, in the final minutes. The Nationals wound up making just five three-pointers (5-of-17) while the hosts went 14-of-41 from beyond the arc on the way to the win.
Justin Brownlee had 21 points but only made one of his seven three-point attempts and committed six turnovers in a game that saw June Mar Fajardo produce 17 points and 11 rebounds. But Fajardo was also saddled with foul troubles as was Kai Sotto, who spent only 19 minutes on the floor before eventually fouling out with 2:35 left in the game. Tarik Biberovic had a game-high 23 points including 5-of-9 from threes. His trey late in the game put Turkey ahead, 81-73, sealing the win.
Can Korkmaz finished with 12 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the free throw line for Turkey, ranked No. 24 in the world and coached by recently-crowned three-time Euroleague champion Ergin Ataman. Gilas, building up for the FIBA OQT in Latvia next week, trailed for most of the game but mounted several rallies that fell short. After being down 42-40 at the half, Gilas stayed within three, 68-65, when Brownlee finally made a three at the final 6:58-mark. But Turkey responded with its own 8-0 run capped by a three by Biberovic for the game’s biggest lead at 76-65.
Turkey played without its NBA players although Cedi Osman of the San Antonio Spurs was at courtside to watch a team that is preparing for the next window of the FIBA Eurobasket 2025 qualifiers in November. No one outside of Brownlee and Fajardo scored in double digits for Gilas with Carl Tamayo finishing with seven points and five rebounds, and Sotto finishing with seven points, three rebounds, and four assists. Dwight Ramos had an all-around game of four points, eight rebounds, and seven assists for Gilas Pilipinas, which will now head to Poland for the final tune-up game on Saturday (Sunday Manila time) before heading to Riga for the OQT.
The scores:
Turkey 84 – Biberovic 23, Korkmaz 12, Sanli 9, Sipahi 9, Osmani 8, Ozdemiroglu 7, Haltali 6, Kabaca 3, Yilmaz 3, Bas 2, Yasar 2, Ilyasoglu 0.
Philippines 73 – Brownlee 21, Fajardo 17, Sotto 7, Tamayo 7, Newsome 5, Ramos 4, Aguilar 4, Perez 3, Oftana 3, Quiambao 2, Amos 0.
Source: spin.ph
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