The Philippine national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas secured a semi-finals slot for the second straight time in FIBA Asia after they defeated Lebanon with the final score of 82-70. The Filipinos survived the Lebanese squad who earlier thought that playing with the Philippines is just an “easy easy” match.
The Gilas Pilipinas vs. Lebanon do-or-die quarterfinals match was held at the Changsha Social Work Colleges Gymnasium. With the Philippines victory, the they face Japan on Friday night after the Japanese emerged victorious over Qatar.
Naturalized center Andray Blatche and Asia’s most reliable point guard Jayson Castro provided the much needed sparks for Gilas in the knockout stage of the competition as the Philippines secure a chance to play in the Olympics qualifying round if they won’t bring home the gold in FIBA Asia.
Jayson Castro showed he is the best point guard in Asia by providing 25 points while the 6-foot-11 Andray Blatche had a monster game of 24 points and 17 rebounds for the Philippines sixth consecutive victories.
Mohamad Ali Haidar led the Lebanese with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while Bassel Bawji added 17 markers and 13 boards for the 34th ranked Lebanon while their superstar naturalized player Jasmon Youngblood was held down to just 12 points courtesy of Gabe Norwood’s defense.
Watch the Highlights of the Gilas vs. Lebanon Match:
