Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Gilas Pilipinas booked a return trip to the finals of the FIBA Asia Championship on Friday (October 2) after outlasting Japan, 81-70.
The Filipinos overcame Makoto Heijima’s game-high 28 points to set a finals date with China, which earlier dethroned defending champions Iran. Gilas Pilipinas and the Hamed Haddadi-led Iranians squared off in the championship match in Manila back in 2013.
Andray Blatche had 22 points and 13 rebounds against the Japanese, while Jayson Castro William added 20 markers to the double-double output of the naturalized Filipino. Dondon Hontiveros was also on target scoring all of his 18 points from beyond the arc.
The China versus Philippines gold medal game will be played Saturday (October 4) at 8:30 p.m. with the winner advancing to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Meanwhile, here are the highlights of the Philippines-Japan semis game from FIBA.com:
