Gilas puts up gallant stand in close loss to Serbia in FIBA OQT opener

Gilas Pilipinas has introduced itself to the world stage in a gallant fashion.

The Filipinos put up a fight against powerhouse Serbia but endured a 76-83 beating to open their FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) campaign in Belgrade, Serbia on Thursday morning (Manila time).

Naturalized big man Angelo Kouame carried the load for the Philippines with his 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and three blocks while Jordan Heading chipped in 13 markers, highlighted by four three-point shots made.

Justine Baltazar and Kai Sotto each finished with 10 points as well.

The Filipinos fell behind in the first half, trailing by 11 points, 45-34, at the break.

But Gilas came back strong in the second half to give the world No. 5 a scare.

The 6-foot-10 Kouame, who was playing just his fourth game in a Gilas uniform, notched six straight points in the third quarter to spark a Philippines run.

From a deficit of as high as 14, Gilas trimmed it down to just five, 65-60, after a 13-4 run capped by a three-pointer from Heading.

The teams entered the fourth quarter with Serbia ahead, 67-62.

Gilas then stunned Serbia after Carl Tamayo opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and Mike Nieto followed it up with another basket that tied the game at 67-all with 9:18 left in the game.

The host country countered with some big plays from Boban Marjanovic and Danilo Andjusic as they extended their lead up to seven, 73-67, before Gilas delivered another run.

The Filipinos scored seven unanswered points as Gilas took the lead, 74-73, with 3:50 remaining on an RJ Abarrientos bucket.

But Serbia turned to NBA player Boban Marjanovic, who buried several crucial shots late in the game. The 7-foot-4 Dallas Mavericks big man scored eight of his team's last 10 points to close out the Filipinos.

Marjanovic led the home team with 25 points and 10 boards as they swept their games in Group A. Ognjen Dobric, meanwhile, contributed 16 markers in 6-of-10 shooting from the field.

Serbia opted to sit out Vasilije Micic and Nemanja Bjelica, who played big roles in the team's win over the Dominican Republic the day before.

Gilas still has a chance to advance to the knockout rounds with a win over Dominican Republic early Friday morning.

The scores:

Serbia 83 – Marjanovic 25, Dobric 16, Teodosic 13, Andjusic, Petrusev 8, Davidovac 5, Jovic 2, Milosavljevic 2, Avramovic 0.

Gilas Pilipinas 76 – Kouame 17, Heading 13, Baltazar 10, Sotto 10, Abarrientos 9, Tamayo 5, Go 4, Navarro 4, Belangel 2, Nieto 2.

Quarterscores: 22-16, 45-34, 67-62, 83-76.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News