Gilas Pilipinas comeback falls short vs Finland, remains winless in Estonia friendlies

Gilas Pilipinas fell short of its comeback attempt as it absorbed an 89-85 loss to Finland on Wednesday night (Estonia time) to remain winless in the series of friendly games in Tallinn, Estonia.

The nationals never tasted the lead in the game, being buried by as big as 18 points early in the second period, 11-29, before they trimmed that to just a single digit at the halftime mark, 42-51.

The Filipino cagers continued to rally in the final stretch of the game with guard Dwight Ramos sinking a layup to send the Philippines to a 79-85 deficit before back-to-back triples from Scottie Thompson made it an 85-89 affair still in Finland's favor with two ticks left.

Unfortunately for Gilas, Finland built enough lead to get away with the victory.

Ramos led the way with 15 points, three rebounds, and two blocks while Barangay Ginebra teammates Justin Brownlee and Thompson churned out 11 and 10 markers apiece.

Gilas previously fell to Estonia, 81-71, to kick off its overseas preparations for the 2023 FIBA World Cup set this August 25 in Manila.

—Bea Micaller, JKC/GMA Integrated News