TAIPEI – Gilas Pilipinas, preparing for two separate tourneys in the next few weeks, capped a solid fourth-place showing in the 2017 Jones Cup with a 90-82 win over Iran at the Taipei Peace Basketball Gymnasium here on Sunday.
Except for a letdown in a stretch midway through the opening quarters, the Filipinos took the initiative all throughout, hardly facing major trouble in disposing of a team that has been among the Philippines’ biggest rivals in the last few years.
But it’s only a battle between the Gilas cadets versus the Iran Team B. Nonetheless, it’s certainly a good way to finish Gilas’ stint here, boding well for its coming SEA Games campaign.
Still, Gilas coach Chot Reyes had his disappointment, believing they could have finished way better.
“I thought that’s the worst game we played the whole tournament. Versus Korea, we shot poorly but we defended very well and I thought we played a very good game even if we lost,” said Reyes.
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“Same thing in our games against Canada and Lithuania. I thought this is our worst. Maybe the players were tired, they’re kind of overlooked Iran or overconfident. I thought we played below our potential,” Reyes added.
Overall, Reyes said they performed well and achieved their goal.
“Overall, it’s a good tournament for us. Not only we’re leaving a good impression, I thought we represented the program very well with these guys who are a very young group,” said Reyes.
“Considering we’re only in the third week together, I thought we put up a job that speaks well of the program,” added Reyes, who steered the team to wins over Taipei A, Taipei B, Japan, Iraq, India and Iran versus losses to Canada, Lithuania and Korea.
With a 6-3 mark, Gilas placed fourth behind Canada (8-1), Lithuania (8-1) and South Korea (still playing at posting time with a 6-2 record).
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Mike Myers collected 21 points and 11 rebounds, Matthew Wright made three treys and total of 20 markers while Christian Standhardinger added 13 points and four rebounds in the game marked by a glimpse of NBA star Kyrie Irving when the Filipinos were already putting the final touch on the win.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 90 – Myers 21, Wright 20, Standhardinger 13, Pogoy 9, Ravena 8, Cruz 5, Parks 5, Ferrer 3, Jose 2, Tolomia 2, Pessumal 2, Jalalon 0.
IRAN 82 – Pazrofteh 21, Soleymani 21, Khajehzadeh 12, Mozafarivanani 11, Rezaeifar 11, Beigiharchegani 3, Falahat 2, Shaharian Nasl 1, Mohammadi 0, Rezaei 0, Reaei 0.
Quarterscores: 26-22; 50-42; 70-62; 90-82
