The Gilas Pilipinas dropped their final game in the preliminary round of the King Abdullah Cup, as they lost to Jordan-A, 84-72, on Saturday at the Prince Hamza Hall in Amman.
Naturalized forward Cameron Forte proved to be a huge thorn on the side of Gilas as he helped thwart the Gilas’ comeback attempt in the final canto, scoring five straight points after the Filipinos pulled to within seven, 63-70, with 4:47 to go. Forte finished with 22 points along with 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Ahmad Al Dwairi led Jordan-A with 23 points and nine boards as the host team grabbed the second seed heading to the semifinals with their 3-1 win-loss mark. They would once again face off against the Gilas, which got the third seed with their 2-2 card, on Sunday morning.
Jordan Heading was the high-point man for Gilas with 15 markers while Cebuano forward Carl Tamayo had 14 points. Former two-time Cesafi MVP Rey Suerte produced 13 points and three assists while Justine Baltazar added 10.
The Gilas, though, missed the usual stout production from naturalized player Ange Kouame and Dwight Ramos as the former had just five while the latter went scoreless. (JNP)