MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Gilas Pilipinas failed to reach the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 quarterfinals, bowing to Japan, 102-81, on Tuesday, July 19, at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Just two months after failing to achieve gold in the Southeast Asia Games, the team had their worst Asia Cup finish since 2007, where they ended up in ninth place.
“We’re very sorry that we’ve disappointed a lot of our countrymen, our fellow Filipinos,” said Philippines head coach Chot Reyes.
The team had won five straight games against Japan in the continental showpiece, but NBA player Yuta Watanabe showed great performance by scoring 15 points, nine rebounds, and three assists in just 19 minutes.
The Akatsuki Five beat the Filipinos in the Asian championships for the first time since 2003.
Not even Watanabe spraining his ankle changed the outcome of the game. With seven minutes left in the third quarter, Japan extended their lead by a total of 28 points.
With Watanabe out of court, Japan was guarded by Yuki Togashi and Luke Evans, a naturalized citizen. The latter hit buckets in the last two quarters that prevented the Philippines from retaliating.
Togashi scored 18 points on a five-of-seven clip from deep, with six assists. Evans made 17 points, seven rebounds, and one steal.
Kiefer Ravena backstopped Parks with 15 points, and Carl Tamayo added 10 points.
Ray Parks led Gilas Pilipinas, scoring 16 points and three assists, but the team fully came apart in the fourth quarter when it trailed 71-99.
Check out the scores of each player below:
Japan 102 – Togashi 18, Evans 17, Watanabe 15, Nishida 15, Suda 14, Harimoto 9, Yoshii 7, Sato 5, Inoue 2, Kawamura 0, Tominaga 0, Toews 0.
Philippines 81 – Parks 16, K. Ravena 15, Tamayo 10, Belangel 9, Erram 7, Quiambao 6, Abarrientos 5, Navarro 4, Lopez 3, T. Ravena 2, Chiu 2, Abando 2.
Quarters: 32-16, 50-34, 77-63, 102-81. – WhatALife!/Zediah
Also read: Kai Sotto undrafted from the 2022 NBA Rookie Draft
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