GILAS Pilipinas just couldn't keep up with a taller and hot-shooting Egypt side, 86-55, and finished its campaign in the 2nd Doha Invitational Cup on a losing note early Monday morning (Manila time)
The Filipinos were outscored by the Pharaohs in the second quarter, 21-9, after taking the first period by a slim margin 19-18.
That telling run proved to be the beginning of the end for the national team, which suddenly trailed by 11 points at the break and never recovered, much to the disappointment of the pro-Filipino crowd that packed the Qatar University Sports and Events Complex for the third straight night.
Justine Brownlee was the lone bright spot for Gilas with 18 points and five rebounds as no other Filipino players managed to crack double figures in scoring.
Gilas ended its stint in the three-game friendly with a 1-2 record, its lone win coming at the expense of host Qatar, 74-71, on opening day.
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Ehab Amin Saleh shot 4-of-8 from three-point range and finished with 20 points to lead Egypt, which emerged the top team of the tournament with a perfect 3-0 slate.
Amr Zahran added 12 points on 2-of-4 three-point shooting, while big man Omar Tarek Oraby added 10 on a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, where the 38th-ranked Pharaohs shot 11-of-32.
The 7-foot-2 Oraby's back-to-back treys highlighted Egypt's second quarter burst to pull away for good.
Lebanon finished one spot higher than Gilas by beating Qatar in the first game, 72-69.
The Cedars ended up with a 2-1 record after winning for the second straight time or about 24 hours after beating Gilas, 75-54.
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Host Qatar absorbed a third straight loss to finish last in the standings.
Glas Pilipinas will be back in Manila by late Monday night and then departs for Chinese Taipei the following day for the third and final window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
The Filipinos battle the Taiwanese on the 20th, before proceeding to Auckland for their match with New Zealand on the 23rd.(RG)
The scores
Egypt (86) - Saleh 20, Zahran 12, Aboushousha 11, Orabi 10, Taha Mohamed 8, Mahmoud 7, Abelgawad 5, Metwaly 5, Elmekawi 4, Abdellatif 2, Nasr 2, Shehata 0.
Philippines (55) - Brownlee 18, Tamayo 9, Thompson 6, Edu 6, Ramos 6, Fajardo 5, Quiambao 3, Perez 1, Newsome 1, Malonzo 0, Amos 0, Oftana 0.
Quarterscores: 18-19: 39-28; 57-45; 86-55.
