Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Gilas Pilipinas downed Lebanon, 82-70, to book a ticket to the semifinals of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China on Thursday (October 1).
Gilas will face Japan in the penultimate stage on October 2 at 9:30 p.m.
Jayson William and Andray Blatche spearheaded the Philippines’ charge with 25 and 24 points, respectively.
William and Blatche carried the bulk of the load from the get-go, but got plenty of help from Marc Pingris and spitfire guard Terrence Romeo in the homestretch en route to the victory.
But to put the stranglehold on the victory, the Filipinos had to stall a couple of runs by the Lebanese in the payoff period.
Naturalized Lebanese Jay Youngblood led a surge at the start of the opening quarter that sliced Gilas’ lead to 61-57.
But Blatche retaliated and scored four unanswered points followed by a basket by Romeo with 4:09 to go to give Gilas a 69-59 cushion.
Youngblood would complete a three-point play inside the final two minutes, but baskets by Pingris, Blatche, and Romeo would seal the deal for the Filipinos.
Heavyweight teams Iran and China duke it out in the other semifinal pairing.