MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas fought valiantly, but Lithuania had just too much firepower to absorb an 80-91 defeat in the 39th Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium Friday.
The loss pulled the Philippines down to a 4-3 record, with two games left, sliding to the fourth spot but still with mathematical chances of bagging a medal depending on the results of the remaining games.
Lithuania improved to a 6-1 mark and still in contention for the championship together with Canada.
The Filipinos dazzled the much tall Lithuanians at the start, leading by as much as eight, 18-10, in the first quarter before the European champion team methodically turned the game around with their torrid three-point shooting and flawless execution of plays.
Lithuania punished Gilas with 14 three-pointers, seven of them in the second quarter. Six of the eight players fielded in by coach Virginius Seskus hit at least one three-pointer.
In contrast, the Filipinos were only good for seven triples.
With a 50-41 lead at halftime, Lithuania continued their shooting exhibition, leading by as much as 20 points, 70-50, late in the third quarter.
Gilas refused to give up without a fight, cutting Lithuania’s lead to a single digit, 85-76, time down to 1:52 – not enough to pull the rug from under the Lithuanians.
Kiefer Ravena led Gilas with 14 points, five assists and two rebounds. Reinforcement Mike Myers also finished with 14 points on top of seven rebounds and three steals while Roger Pogoy and Matthew Wright added 13 points apiece. Christian Standhardinger chipped in 9 points.
Eigirdas Kukauskas led Lithuania with 22 points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 34 minutes.
Other results:
Canada def. India, 121-72; South Korea def. Japan 101-81; Iraq def. Iran, 90-75.
Games Saturday:
11:00 a.m. — Japan (1-6) vs. Canada (6-1),
1:00 p.m. — Philippines (4-3) vs. India (0-7), 3:00 p.m. — Chinese Taipei-B (2-4) vs. Lithuania (6-1), 5:00 p.m. — Iraq (4-3) vs. South Korea (5-2), 7:00 p.m. — Iran (3-4) vs. Chinese Taipei-A (3-3).
