MANILA — This one was a victory that was a big loss. Needing to win by 11 points against Kazakhstan to get a chance to advance to the next round, Gilas Pilipinas sang the same tune again, leading by as much as 18 only to falter in the end game.
Gilas won, 67-65, but its lone victory in the quarterfinal round fell short of the margin, and the Philippines bowed out of contention in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon South Korea.
The Philippines finished with a a tie with Kazakhstan at a 1-2 win-loss slate. Qatar, which was playing host South Korea at press time, could also absorb similar fate if it fails. A loss by Qatar would create a three-way tie among the Philippines, Qataris and the Kazakhs but the former Soviet satillite nation will claim the right to face possibly Iran in the semifinal round due to superior quotient.
Qatar lost to Kazakhstan, 65-57, late Saturday, which kept the Filipinos’ hope alive.
The Philippines lost to Qatar, 68-77 and to South Korea, 95-97.
With naturalized player Marcus Douthit back in the groove, the Philippines seemed heading for a big win and took a huge 18-point lead 50-32 with 2:55 remaining in the third period. But the hope slowly fizzled out after Kazakshtan came back.
“We’re out officially of the Asian Games. Sad day for Philippine basketball,” said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan, who is also the team’s chief benefactor. “It’s back to the drawing board. Let’s just move on. We must keep in mind that the road to the Asian Championship will be long and tough, and the climb will be steep. The important thing though is to show we’re improving—however gradually.”
Kazakhstan came up with back-to-back triples and held its ground to cut down the deficit, 59-51, with still 6:28 to go.
Then the game went from disappointing to downright bizarre. Leading by two, the Philippines showed it wanted to force overtime to get another five minutes to go for that 11-point win.
Douthit deliberately made a basket on Kazakhstan’ goal that would have tied and extend the game but the referees refused to count the basket under the “spirit of the game” rule.
The Kazakhs, on the other hand, also deliberately missed two free throws in the final seconds to avoid a five-minute overtime.
“We won but we really lost. We are now out of contention for a medal. So that’s the story of this ballgame,” said coach Chot Reyes.
Douthit led with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks, while Jimmy Alapag finished with 11 points and Gary David had 8.
Marc Pingris showed up in the game but was not in uniform due to an injury, while June Mar Fajardo was fielded for less than four minutes.