Gilas Pilipinas kept its World Cup hopes breathing Sunday night, clawing back from an ugly opening quarter to beat Iran, 68-56, before a packed and increasingly restless Mall of Asia Arena.
The victory lifted Gilas to 4-4 in the qualifiers and, more importantly, gave its campaign another shot of life. Gilas has 4 more games to play, two against Syria and one each versus Iran and Jordan.
For nearly 10 minutes, though, the Philippines played as if the basket had filed a restraining order.
Gilas missed free throws, open looks, and shots from close range, managing just 15 percent shooting in the first quarter as Iran raced to an 18-7 lead. The home crowd had barely settled into its seats when it found itself watching a basketball horror show.
Then the Filipinos remembered why they were there.
Juan Gomez de Liaño and Dwight Ramos helped ignite a 29-16 second-quarter surge, while Junemar Fajardo supplied one more reminder of his enduring value in his final game wearing the national colors. Ramos capped the rally with a steal and triple as Gilas turned an 11-point hole into a 36-34 halftime lead.
“We were down in the beginning, and we were able to come back,” Ramos said. “It just shows our fighting spirit, our togetherness.”
Ramos said the comeback was particularly meaningful with naturalized star Justin Brownlee unavailable.
“It’s easy to quit when JB is not here,” he said. “But we kept battling, and we were able to get two wins in this window.”
The third quarter was another arm wrestle, with Gilas nursing a 49-47 advantage entering the fourth. Then the Philippines finally stopped merely surviving and started closing.
Gomez de Liaño and Ramos finished with 16 points each, while Kai Sotto controlled the paint with 13 points and 16 rebounds. EJ Edu added crucial stops as Gilas outscored Iran, 19-9, in the final quarter.
“I’m trying to facilitate, get my teammates going, get them involved,” Gomez de Liaño said. “I’m just so happy that we got two Ws here at home. There’s no better feeling than that.”
It was also the first time Sotto and Edu played together for the senior national team, offering Gilas a tantalizing glimpse of a frontcourt pairing years in the making since their Batang Gilas days.
Iran had Mobin Sheikhi, who scored 21 points and buried five of eight triples. Unfortunately, he was largely playing a one-man concert.
The emotional final note belonged to Fajardo.
“This is the last time I will see my name on the scoreboard,” said Fajardo, letting the moment sink in. “It is an honor to have served Gilas.”
Chris Newsome promptly secured the game ball for him.
Gilas got the win it badly needed. The World Cup dream survived another night. And the Kraken left the floor with the ball.
