By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
So close, yet so far.
Gilas Pilipinas once again shocked the basketball world after keeping the game against the mighty Serbian team within reach but fell at the end, 83-76, in their first game of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).
Playing with the determination and the resiliency instilled within the players since their successful FIBA Asia Cup campaign, the brave youngsters of Gilas erased Serbia’s 16-point lead and was once again set up for another dramatic finish on the big stage.
The Filipino fans inside the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade began to explode and jumped in excitement after RJ Abarrientos gave them the lead off his sweet lay-up with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter.
However, NBA team Dallas Mavericks’ center Boban Marjanovic was quick to respond and made a basket to regain the lead, 75-74.
The see-saw affair continued as rising star Justine Baltazar sank his signature floater in the baseline to cut Serbia’s lead to just one, 77-76.
As the Filipinos gained momentum once again, Serbia called on a pin-down play for Marjanovic that resulted in an easy score underneath and also helped ignite the whole team on the defensive end as well.
After Marjanovic’s baskets, the Serbians did not let Gilas score a single basket anymore with 2:07 still left in the game.
The Serbian giant finished the game with 25 big points and 11 rebounds while the Philippines was led by Ange Kouame who chipped in 17 followed by Jordan Heading who contributed 13 points.
Despite the loss, the entire Filipino basketball community gave their flowers to the young team who fought with a valiant effort against an NBA-filled Serbian team.
