Gilas Pilipinas breaks out of slump to beat Egypt in Spain
After suffering a five-game losing skid in tune-up games, Gilas Pilipinas finally got a confidence building victory as they defeated Egypt, 74-65, in Guadalajara, Spain early Monday morning Manila time.
With Filipino fans coming out in full force, Gilas banked on the hot shooting of Jeff Chan who exploded for 20 points and the steady presence of Andray Blatche who scored 14 in the second half. Gilas bigs Marc Pingris and June Mar Fajardo also played good games as they scored 12 and eight points, respectively, while Paul Lee added six.
With Blatche struggling from the field, Gilas Pilipinas faced a 31-29 deficit after the first 20 minutes of action.
The naturalized Filipino finally woke up in the third quarter as he scored seven points to give Gilas a seven-point advantage at 53-46 heading into the final quarter.
After Egypt sliced the Philippines’ lead down to four points, Chan and Ranidel De Ocampo conspired for an 8-0 blast for a 70-58 Gilas lead with only 4:12 remaining in the game.
Gilas Pilipinas will close out its series of tune-up matches against the Dominican Republic.