Saudi Gazette MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas nearly pulled off a gigantic upset but failed to sustain their fiery start, losing to European powerhouse France, 84-93, Tuesday night at the start of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Manila at the jam-packed Mall of Asia Arena. Gilas Pilipinas, no. 28 in the FIBA ranking, led France, the fifth biggest basketball power in the world, by 10 points in the first half but faded after the halftime break as the NBA star-studded French squad finally asserted their might. Deadly French gunner Nando De Colo exploded for 27 points while NBA star Tony Parker added 21 points and six assists. Joffrey Lauvergne and Kim Tillie added 10 points a piece while Boris Diaw, another NBA star, finished with nine points, nine rebounds and six assists. Andray Blatche paced Gilas Pilipinas with 21 points and eight rebounds. Terrence Romeo scored 19 points while Jayson Castro posted 14 points and three assists. Despite the loss, Gilas remain in the hunt for the lone ticket to the Rio Olympic Games if they can beat New Zealand in their second assignment Wednesday night. The Filipinos started the game on fire with Blatche scoring the first basket with a rim-rattling dunk following a steal. France appeared lost as Gilas erected a 10-point lead, 28-18, in the first quarter. The Les Bleus squad began finding their range in the second quarter while toughening their defense to take the lead. A Parker-led 14-1 run gave France a 45-41 advantage before Romeo nailed a buzzer-beating shot to cut France's lead to 45-43 at the end of the first half. France threatened to break the game wide open in the third canto as its big men pounded the paint. But three-pointers from Castro and Jeff Chan kept the Filipinos within striking distance. Gilas kept clawing their way back from a 13-point deficit but suffered a huge blow when Blatche got into foul trouble, forcing coach Tab Baldwin to sub him. In the final quarter, the Filipinos were still in the game, behind by just four, 85-81, with 3:14 remaining. But the French scored six unanswered points in the paint, stopping the Filipinos on their tracks. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte showed up in the Arena and made the ceremonial jumpball toss. In the first game, Canada defeated Turkey, 77-69, in a Group A match. Toronto Raptors guard and Canada team captain Cory Joseph led Canada with 21 points and five assists while recently-crowned NBA champion Tristan Thompson added 10 points and six rebounds. The Canadians led by as many as 16 points in the second half but had to fight for dear life in the fourth quarter as Turkey made their last-ditch stand, closing to within six points of overtaking Canada's lead in the endgame. Sinan Guler led Turkey with 14 points. Games Wednesday: Canada vs. Senegal (Group A) and Philippines vs. New Zealand (Group B).
