Photo credit: FIBA Asia
Following defeats against Estonia and Finland, the Chot Reyes-mentored Gilas Pilipinas finally secured a victory in their preparations for the upcoming 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup by defeating the Ukraine men's national under-20 team, 70-61 in a tuneup game on Saturday, July 1 at the Zalgiris Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania. They are scheduled to have a rematch on July 2 at 10pm PHL time.
According to onesports, the game was closely contested from start to finish, but Gilas Pilipinas managed to take control in the late stages, securing a nine-point victory. However, despite the win, the longstanding Gilas mentor expressed concerns about his team's performance, particularly on the defensive end.
“To be very honest, although we won this game, I still think there were a lot of defensive lapses. If I were to rate it, I think this is the worst game that we’ve played since the start. I know this is the game that we won but I thought there was a lot more to be desired,” coach Chot Reyes told One Sports' Carlo Pamintuan.
“In our overall journey in the process, we focused on cutting down on our turnovers, not giving up offensive rebounds, and then, being able to execute the defense that we worked on yesterday. I think we were able to do that,” Reyes added.
Gilas wins 70-61. Rematch tomorrow. 5pm local. pic.twitter.com/zmiNZIh1Ky
— Carlo Pamintuan (@carlo_pamintuan) July 1, 2023
The Scores:
PHILIPPINES 70 - Abando, Ramos, Brownlee, Fajardo, Perez, T Ravena, Aguilar, Malonzo, Erram, K Ravena, Newsome (DNP-bruised knee), Thompson (DNP-back), Edu (DNP),.
UKRAINE 61 - Safonov, Koshevatsky, Batalsky, Kobzisty, Kabanov, Zaytsev, Semerijch, Dzuba, Shymanskyi, Bryniuk, Bednostin, Bublyk.
Quarters: 16-12, 33-31, 53-48, 70-61. [VIDEO] | [STATS]
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