FIBA Asia Cup: Paul Lee shoots Gilas Pilipinas to victory over Chinese Taipei

The Gilas Pilipinas national team opened their FIBA Asia Cup campaign on a winning note, defeating Chinese Taipei, 78-64, on Saturday in Wuhan, China.

Rain or Shine guard Paul Lee, coming off a heartbreaking Governors' Cup finals campaign with the Elasto Painters, had a rousing Gilas debut with 18 points on four three-pointers to lead the squad.

The Filipinos gained a measure of revenge against the Taiwanese, who dealt one of only two Gilas losses in the FIBA Asia Championship last year.

Gilas started out on fire, with Gary David scoring six points in the team's 10-0 blast to begin the game.

The Philippines held the lead comfortably until Chinese Taipei made a third quarter run to take a 50-47 lead heading into the final period.

But Lee opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to tie the game and spark the Gilas fightback. Back-to-back three-pointers from Lee and David capped an 11-0 run that restored the Philippines' double-digit lead, 65-54, with 4:31 left in the game.

David added 16 points for Gilas, which will next take on Singapore on Monday before wrapping up the preliminary round against Jordan on Tuesday.

The tournament is part of the Philippines team's buildup for the FIBA Basketball World Cup and the Asian Games basketball competition later this year. — JST, GMA News