(CNN Philippines, July 1) — A young Gilas Pilipinas side almost pulled off a stunning upset against world no. 5 Serbia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.
Gilas stayed within striking distance in the fourth period until NBA big man Boban Marjanovic took over to lead Serbia to an 83-76 victory on Thursday at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade.
The gritty Gilas players battled their way back from a 16-point deficit and briefly took the lead in the third minute mark of the final quarter before the 7-foot-3 Marjanovic scored eight of Serbia’s last 10 points to secure the win.
Gilas had several chances to retake the lead in the clutch, but their shots won’t fall when it counted the most.
Naturalized big man Angelo Kouame paced Gilas with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Jordan Heading had a productive stint as he scored 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the outside, three assists, and two rebounds.
Kai Sotto and Justine Baltazar chipped in 10 markers apiece for Gilas.
Marjanovic dropped 25 markers and grabbed 10 boards for Serbia.
Gilas will next face Dominican Republic on Friday. The winner of that game will battle the winner of the Italy-Puerto Rico match in a knockout semifinals clash.
