Gilas bows out of King Abdullah Cup stint

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Gilas Pilipinas has been knocked out of the King Abdullah Cup basketball tournament after absorbing a semifinals loss against Jordan team A, 84-74.

The bigger and taller Jordan squad overpowered the young Gilas cadets, dominating in the interior as evidenced by the disparity in points in the paint, rebounds, and free throws taken.

Coming off a loss from the same team before the semis began, the coach Tab Baldwin-led team was smoking hot from the field and immediately jumped to an 8-2 advantage in the first quarter.

However, the Jordan team quickly composed themselves and countered with a 24-3 run to establish a 26-11 lead.

Gilas managed to fight back courtesy of a hard-working Ange Kouame who was dominant in the paint and was just a force defensively.

Kouame’s hustle plays led to several opportunities for Gilas in the fourth including an open Jordan Heading three-pointer and two clear drives for Dave Ildefonso.

Gilas cut the lead to just four, 70-66, with less than five minutes left in the final frame but another Jordan attack ballooned the lead to nine and made it hard for the young guns to keep up.

Kouame led Gilas with 20 huge points off 8/13 shooting from the field backstopped by Heading with 9 and Thirdy Ravena with 8.