2013 FIBA Asia Championship: Gilas gets it done against Kazakhstan, barges into the semis

(Updated 10:13pm)  The Philippine national basketball team leaned on good shooting and even better defense, coming out with an 88-58 victory against Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Gary David led all scorers with 22 points, including 13 in the first quarter, thanks in part to a 4-of-6 clip from three-point territory. Jayson Castro notched 13 points and four assists, while Japeth Aguilar had 11 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Douthit, nursing a bruised calf muscle from Wednesday's game versus Hong Kong, nabbed five points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes of play.

"[Sa Kazakhstan tune-up game] nagsimula yung pangit ko na laro, so tinapos ko ngayon. So bukas itutuloy-tuloy ko na," said David after the game, relieved that his worst shooting days seem behind him.

"Hindi sumuko sa akin ang mga coaches ko at teammates ko, at patuloy ang kanilang paniniwala na ma-overcome ko ang bad games ko," he said.

Head coach Chot Reyes praised David, and was glad his faith in him was rewarded tonight. "He was there from day one, and it was something for me, personally, I felt was part of basketball. Shooters, their job is to shoot. The worst thing I could've done was to stop him and limit his minutes as a coach," he said.

"It was a good game because we were able to execute our defensive game plan very, very well. We have high respect for Kazakhstan basketball, and I personally have very high respect for coach Matteo [Ponomarev]," added Reyes.

Once again, Reyes thanked the fans, an estimated 16,000-strong crowd, who showed up despite the prohibitive ticket prices. "I think this crowd really helped us play with a lot of energy. The team we're playing is taller than us, stronger than us and more physical, so we had to make sure we have to play with more exuberance," he said.

Korea and Qatar will play later tonight for the right to face Gilas in the tournament's semifinals. Gilas is a win away from finishing in the tournament's top three, who will qualify for the World Championship in Spain in 2014.

Gilas was hot from the opening tip, moving the ball well versus Kazakhstan's zone defense to find LA Tenorio and Jeff Chan for open three-pointers. Tenorio later fed Chan for a fast break, bringing the tally to 10-3 barely three minutes into the game.

Kazakhstan called for time to regroup, but they missed easy shots and still labored against Gilas' rotations. In contrast, Gilas got easy baskets at the rim thanks to Marc Pingris and Gabe Norwood.

Gary David then caught fire in his most memorable stretch of the tournament yet, making 3-of-4 from downtown in the final three minutes, before a late layup by Vitaly Lapchenko made it a 32-15 tally after the first period.

Dmitriy Klimov opened the second quarter with a triple for Kazakhstan, and the visiting team soon found their range. Except for two drives to the rim by David, Gilas had largely cooled off from their first quarter start. Klimov added a couple more triples halfway through the period to halve the deficit, 41-31.

While jostling for a rebound, Pingris was called for a foul against Mikhail Yestigniyev. Furious, Pingris hit Yestigniyev with his forearm and pointed a finger to his face, meriting a technical foul. Both players were immediately benched, as Jerry Jonson split the bonus charities.

Kazakhstan took advantage of the sequence, drawing fouls and scoring inside, as charities by Anton Ponomarev made it a six-point game, 44-38, with two minutes to play. Gilas did just enough to keep Kazakhstan from coming closer, as a Marcus Douthit dunk and a Norwood triple helped them retain a 51-40 halftime lead.

After two quarters, David's 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting bannered an 18-of-30 (60 percent) clip for Gilas, while Kazakhstan went 15-of-35 (43 percent) from the floor. Gilas outpaced their opponents in assists (16-9) and turnover points (9-2), but trailed in second-chance points (6-0).


Gilas' gaudy shooting numbers took a dip in the third quarter, where they had nothing going sans a Norwood trey to begin the period. Kazakhstan was equally bad as they had a handful of misses at point-blank range, 54-42.

With under five minutes to play, Klimov nailed his fourth trey to finally get some offense flowing. Gilas though, did enough to match, until consecutive stops netted transition hoops for David, Jayson Castro and Japeth Aguilar, for enough separation for the home team. Gilas went 8-0 in the final minute and a half, posting a 67-49 margin after the third period.

Yestigneyev scored in the post to open the fourth quarter, but there was little Kazakhstan could do to stop Gilas. The lead breached 20 points as Castro and David dropped three-pointers, while Klimov was whistled for unsportsmanlike fouls on consecutive possessions. Klimov exited the floor at the 8:21 mark as David made all four bonus charities, while Aguilar added a turnaround jumper, 78-51.

Kazakhstan scored off a series of Gilas miscues, but couldn't string together a run to seriously threaten in the game. A slam by Aguilar with under four minutes to play punctuated the convincing win, 84-57, as Gilas cruised to the finish line.

"This team is the product of authentic players," said Kazakhstan head coach Matteo Boniciolli, explaining how there are only five professional teams in Kazakhstan, and his players back up the imports who dominate their league.

Boniciolli expressed hope that this showing could help Kazakhstan build a stronger national basketball program in the years to come.

"Today was a great game for the Philippines. They showed what they were capable of doing," said Ponomarev. "Unfortunately we can't deal with the pressure from the fans because we rarely play in front of this kind of atmosphere."

"I'd also like to apologize because I couldn't deal with expectations in this tournament," he finished.

Gilas finished the game shooting 31-of-65 (48 percent), including 13-of-30 (43 percent) from beyond the arc. In contrast, Kazakhstan was 21-of-69 (30 percent) from the floor, counting 8-of-25 (32 percent) from downtown.

Gilas also led in assists (23-13), turnover points (16-4) and fast break points (16-6).

Dmitriy Klimov was the sole Kazakh in double-digit scoring with 14 points and nine rebounds, making 4-of-7 three-pointers. Anton Ponomarev offered eight points and 12 rebounds in the losing effort. - RAF, GMA News