THE Gilas Pilipinas pool took the floor looking better in its second competitive game since being formed early this month, but still fell short to host Estonia, 80-90, on Saturday in a four-nation pocket tournament hosted by the Northern European country’s capital Talin at the Saku Suurhall Arena.
Estonia, back in the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) EuroBasket this year since 2001, led from start to finish and even erected a commanding 55-35 halftime lead.
The hosts led by as many as 23 points before the Filipinos tried to rally in the fourth quarter with Terrence Romeo’s three-pointer, cutting the lead to 77-86 with two minutes left.
But Estonia Head Coach Tiit Sokk’s wards made the necessary stops and held on to book their first win in the mini tournament.
Gilas’s naturalized player Andray Blatche topscored with 16 points, while Jayson Castro added 12 points. Romeo chipped in 10 for the team of Head Coach Tab Baldwin.
JC Intal and backup naturalized player Moala Tautuaa saw action for the first time for Gilas, while Gary David, Aldrech Ramos, Jimmy Alapag and the injured Ranidel de Ocampo warmed the bench.
Like in their 62-89 loss to the Netherlands on Friday, the Filipinos went into foul trouble early with Calvin Abueva leaving the game midway the third period.
Abueva, a first-timer in the Gilas Pilipinas program, finished with eight points in 13 minutes of action.
Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and Dondon Hontiveros came off the bench and combined for 16 points.
Gilas is playing in the pocket tournament in preparation for the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship in Changsa, China, from September 23 to October 3. The Changsa tournament is the qualifier for the next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Philippines played the unbeaten Iceland on Saturday night for its final game in Estonia.
After beating Estonia by 20 points, Iceland pulled off a 67-65 escape over the Netherlands. Iceland is competing in this year’s Fiba EuroBasket for the first time.