By Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — Mac Belo exploded for 30 points, 13 of them in the decisive fourth quarter, to lead Gilas Pilipinas to a rousing 98-86 victory over Kazakhstan Tuesday, their first win in the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran, Iran.
Belo, who has been the consistent top scorer for the Filipinos, also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Gilas Pilipinas led by 17 points but had to fight for dear life in the second half as the Kazakhs came charging back, cutting the Filipinos’ lead to just four, 70-66, heading into the fourth quarter.
But Belo bailed out Gilas, scoring five straight points as the Filipinos padded their lead to nine, 77-68.
Belo continued pouring on the points as Gilas Pilipinas took a commanding 88-76 lead en route to snapping a three-game losing streak. The Filipinos suffered stinging losses to India, Chinese Taipei and China before the Kazakhstan game.
With the win, the Filipinos kept their hopes alive of advancing to the knockout quarterfinals.
Ed Daquioag added 17 points, four assists and three steals while Russell Escoto chipped in with 12 markers for Gilas Pilipinas .
India 70, China 64
In a colossal upset, India defeated China, 70-64, Tuesday in a result that made it tougher for Gilas Pilipinas to advance to the playoffs.
Amritpal Singh paced India with 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Indians dealt the Chinese their first loss in the tournament.
With this result, Gilas Pilipinas (1-3) needs Jordan (2-1) to lose to Chinese Taipei Tuesday evening, and then beat the same Jordanian team Wednesday to be able to sustain its hopes for the quarterfinals.
In that scenario, a three-way tie between Gilas Pilipinas, India and Jordan for the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in Group E will ensue.
Earlier Monday, Gilas Pilipinas bowed to China, 65-75. As in their first two games, the Filipinos got badly outrebounded, 35-37, and gave away 31 free throws to the Chinese as against their 15.
In other games Monday, Jordan routed India 121-65; Chinese Taipei dominated Kazakhstan 92-77; Japan edged Iraq 67-65; Iran drubbed Thailand 114-41; and South Korea defeated Qatar 86-60.
