Gilas seniors and juniors had respective losses abroad
Gilas Pilipinas taste their first loss in Korean friendlies as they absorb a 96-92 setback in the first day of their two-game tuneup in the KB Kookmin Bank Invitational on Friday night at the Anyang Gymnasium in Gyeonggi-Do as part of its preparation for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in New Zealand and the FIBA Asia Cup in Indonesia next month.
The South Koreans led by as much as 17 points and a late stage comeback by the Filipinos at the 87-82 mark after a running layup by SJ Belangel and a 3-point play by Dwight Ramos did not help their cause.
Kiefer Ravena led all the scorers with 22 points, including four treys, while Ramos tallied 16 markers and Rhenz Abando and Carl Tamayo added 11 each, both ROY for the NCAA and UAAP respectively.
In the winning column, reigning Korean Basketball League MVP Choi Jun-yong led the charge with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists as he erupted with 12 points in their third-quarter.
In the junior ranks, the Gilas Pilipinas youth team also lost at 109-83 loss in the hands of the Australians as they exited the FIBA U16 Asian Championship on Friday at Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall in Doha, Qatar.
Caelum Harris put up 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 blocks in the loss, while Alex Konov tallied 13 points and Lorenzo Bryan Competente led the offensive end, draining four treys and finished with 18 points for Gilas
These, however, were not enough to offset the double-digit outputs from the Boomers' Kye Savage, Joshua Dent, Triastan Devers and Carlin Briggs.
Only the top four finishers in the Asian Championship will advance to the World Cup in Malaga, Spain, while the Filipinos drop to the classification stage and will face the loser between Korea and Lebanon on Saturday.
Tags: #Gilas #basketball, #FIBA