Gilas Pilipinas needed only to keep its loss to China below 38 points to stay alive in the Asian Games. Instead, it was blown out by 44.
China crushed the Philippines 105-61 on Monday, ending Gilas’ title defense and sending the All-Filipino lineup crashing out of the group stage.
The Philippines did not need to beat China to advance. It only had to avoid a rout big enough to secure one of the seats reserved for the two best third-place spots.
It failed spectacularly.
The 44-point margin was the largest defeat by Gilas against China in the program’s history, turning what had been a manageable piece of tournament arithmetic into a wipeout.
China showed little mercy once it seized control. It raced to a 66-30 halftime lead, stretched the advantage to 39 after three quarters, then kept scoring until the final seconds.
Seven Chinese players finished in double figures, led by Barry Wang with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Calvin Oftana was the Philippines’ lone double-digit scorer with 13.
The gap showed in nearly every major statistic. China shot 51 percent from the field against Gilas’ 32 percent, outrebounded the Philippines 55-38, and handed out 24 assists to 18 for Gilas while committing five fewer turnovers.
The three-point shooting that powered Gilas past Kazakhstan also vanished. The Philippines made just 7 of 32 attempts from beyond the arc, or 22 percent, while China hit 12 of 32, or 38 percent.
Against Kazakhstan, the long ball opened the door. Against China, it slammed it shut.
The result also carried an extra sting. China was eliminated by Gilas in the 2023 Asian Games semifinals after squandering a 20-point lead, with Justin Brownlee hitting the winning three-pointer. Brownlee’s injury kept him out of this tournament.
This time, China left nothing to chance.
For the Philippines, the Asian Games crown is gone, along with any escape route from the group stage.
