Gilas Pilipinas succumbs to Puerto Rico in another heartbreaker

MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas fought toe-to-toe with a tough Puerto Rico side but fell short once again, yielding a 73-77 decision in another nail-biter that turned out to be yet another heartbreaker for them in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Seville, Spain on Wednesday.

The Filipinos fell prey to a hot-shooting J.J. Barea, who carried the bulk of the scoring for Puerto Rico especially in the payoff period.

The six-foot guard, who also plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, exploded for a game-high 30 points, including seven straight in the game’s final two minutes to seal the win for Puerto Rico and knock the Philippines out of contention.

Andray Blatche topscored for Gilas Pilipinas with 25 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Filipinos to notch their first win in the tournament that pits the world’s best against each other.

The Filipinos got off to a promising start, finishing the opening quarter with a 25-13 lead which they sustained at halftime, 44-39.

But Puerto Rico started to get into rhythm in the second half, closing the third quarter by grabbing the upperhand, 61-57.

It was Barea’s triple with 2:11 left in the game that tied the count at 70-all, and the burly guard scored four more points to keep Gilas Pilipinas at bay en route to the win.

L.A. Tenorio had a breakout game with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Gilas Pilipinas faces Senegal on Thursday night in their last game of the group stages.

The Filipinos almost pulled off wins against Croatia and Argentina, pushing the two powerhouse teams to the limit in performances that exceeded most observers' expectations.