Gilas Pilipinas hangs on, bests Shanghai Sharks

Gilas Pilipinas saw their 19-point lead slashed down to only five in the final 99 seconds, but the Philippine national team proved too steady for their Chinese Basketball Association foes, emerging victorious against the Shanghai Sharks, 80-72, on Monday at the SM MOA Arena, as part of the Philippines-China Friendship Games.

The win comes on the heels of a 124-all tie against a collection of PBA All-Stars, Sunday at Digos City, Davao Del Sur.

This game saw a mix of national team candidates combine with cadet squad members, versus the CBA-owned franchise of former NBA center Yao Ming.

Gabe Norwood and June Mar Fajardo started the Philippines off with a 4-0 run, before center Zhang Zhaoxu finally converted for the Sharks at the 8:55 mark. Jeff Chan took it right back with a three, before Wang Ligang responded with his own version at the other end.

A drive by Ge Yang tied the game at 7-all, before Cai Liang banked in a one-hander to give the Chinese a taste of the lead, 9-7. A short turnaround jumper from Fajardo was followed up by a pair of free throws from Norwoord, re-establishing a two-point lead for the locals, 11-9.

Garvo Lanete came in for the struggling Gary David, as Ge Yang and Norwood traded treys. In the last five and a half minutes of the first period, Shanghai would only score one more time, on a drive by Meng Lingyuan, as Fajardo and naturalized center Marcus Douthit closed out the quarter with a pair of conversions, giving Gilas a 20-14 lead at the end of one.

Wang Ligang started the second with a three for Shanghai, but back-to-back hits from Garvo Lanete, followed by a Gabe Norwood basket on the break, gave the Philippines a nine-point lead, 26-17.

At the 8:05 mark, Matt Ganuelas and RR Garcia came in for Norwood and Kevin Alas, as Japeth Aguilar hit a pair of free throws, 28-18. Ganuelas announced his entry with a banker, forcing Shanghai to call a timeout.

Zhang Zhaoxu challenged Greg Slaughter for two in the paint, as Ganuelas drove in at the other end, freeing up David for a three, 32-19. After a two-minute scoring drought, Ge Yang rung in a three for Shanghai, but RR Garcia was there to take it back, 35-21.

Ganuelas continued to find his shooters in the wings, this time gifting Garcia with another assist for a triple. After a timeout, the Sharks went on a 9-0 run, before Jeff Chan ended the half with his version of a trey, 43-30.

After the first half, Fajardo started with a short jumper for a 15-point advantage, prior to Zhang Zhaoxu canning two from the line to give the Sharks their first points of the third. Gilas then found David free for a corner three which splashed in.

Fajardo and Douthit held their own in the interior, as Shanghai struggled to score. After a split from Fajardo, Shanghai strung four for the line and from the field. The visitors were in for a little treat though, as David hit back-to-back treys to break their momentum and form a 55-39 spread with 5:08 remaining in the penultimate canto.

Gilas went ahead by reeling off an 8-4 run, before Meng Lingyuan converted on twin lay-ups and an elbow jumper. The Philippines went on to deliver a hot finish in the final minute, with Garvo Lanete hitting back-to-back three's to give the Philippines a 71-52 lead heading into the fourth.

Shanghai pressed Gilas to start the fourth, resulting in a 10-0 run, 71-62. Garcia stopped the bleeding for Gilas with a baseline jumper, as Shangai strung three more to keep in step, 73-65. Fajardo got to clean up a Norwood miss, before Japeth Aguilar brought drew some cheers from a tense arena with a dunk, 77-66, with 3:41 remaining.

Free throws from Ge Yang and Meng Lingyuan were followed by a Gilas turnover, before the two teams started to miss, to ring in the final two minutes.

At the 1:39 mark, Zhang Zhaoxu spun against Douthit to cut the Gilas lead to five, as the Philippine contingent committed another turnover. With 1:18 remaining, Ge Yang missed his turnaround, failing to capitalize on the bonus possession. Shanghai did not appear to want to slug it out in the final minute, opting to set and run out the clock instead of getting easy buckets. A Chan split from the line then settled the score at the 19.9 mark, 80-72.

The Sharks will play Tuesday against a PBA selection coached by Air21 Express mentor Franz Pumaren, at the Smart-Araneta Colliseum. - AMD, GMA News



The scores:

Gilas Pilipinas 80 – David 14, Aguilar 11, Fajardo 11, Norwood 11, Lanete 10, Chan 9, Garcia 8, Ganuelas 2, Douthit 2, Slaughter 2, Pascual 0, Pascual 0, Alas 0

Shanghai Sharks 72 – Zhao 17, Lingyuan 14, Ligang 11, Yang 9, Sizhang 8, Laing 6, Yuan 3, Yang 2, Yi 2

Quarter scoring: 20-14, 43-30, 71-52, 80-72