The Philippine national men’s basketball team experience a hard time against a team that was supposed to be an easy opponent for the nationals but the Saudi’s have put on their offensive weapons at the early start of the game. The game ended with the Philippines winning 78-66.
The visiting Saudis raced to a 16-14 lead in the first quarter despite the fact that the Philippines was playing in front of the home crowd who attended the game at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Gilas Pilipinas made some adjustments and bounced back in the second quarter by taking a 7-point lead at halftime, 35-28. In the fourth quarter the Gilas Pilipinas took a 16 point lead, 66-50, at the early start of the final quarter. The Saudi’s bounced back and scored three straight three-pointers to cut the deficit with just 7 points, 66-59.
The national team of the Philippines perhaps feels the jitters of playing at home, therefore they just shot 31 percent from three-points and committed 14 turnovers, including 8 in the first half alone. The Gilas also committed a total of 30 fouls reaching the penalty in each quarter.
Watch the highlights Gilas Pilipinas vs. Saudi Arabia: