The FIBA 8th ranked Turkey simply blew out the chances of Gilas Pilipinas in a game in Instanbul early Thursday morning in the Philippines. Good news though, this is just a tune up game.
Andray Blatche seems to be the only who can match the height advantage of the Turkey team and scored 23 points to keep the fight of the Filipinos. Jayson Casto was also helpful in offense with 15 points. They might face Turkey in the knockout stages of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manila.
Calvin Abueva also helped with eight points, LA Tenorio added six, Jeff Chan and Ray Parks contributed 5.
Ryan Reyes, Gabe Norwood, and Japeth Aguilar also added some points to our offense.
It seems that we had a chance in the first stretches of the game but it was just a matter of time when their height advantage becomes a big factor. Blatche, with his NBA experience, managed to slice inside and make some jumpshots. He made 11 points in the first quarter.
On the other hand, Turkey seems to be unstoppable as the game moves on. Former NBA player Semih Erden, a seven-footer, and a 2015 NBA draft pick Cedi Osman, were amazing on their offense. Together with well-executed plays and sharpshooting, Erden and Osman made Turkey too much for Gilas Pilipinas this time.
Gilas Pilipinas continue to struggle in the second quarter as Turkey extend the lead. Turkey secured a 25-point lead at the half 57-32.
Castro tried to contribute more offense in the second half as he scored 13 point in the 3rd quarter alone.
Turkey did not back out and even increase the lead to 30 points highlighted by an Erden dunk.
Turkey lead as much as 37 points and shreds Gilas Pilipinas away from home.
There will be a rematch on July 1 at Mall of Asia Arena before the Olympic qualifier begins on July 5. If this is a learning process, we sure hope Gilas Pilipinas still has a chance on their second game before the actual qualifiers begin. What do you think? Do we really have the chance?
