MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:30 a.m.) — It's the end of the road for Gilas Pilipinas' Olympic dream after losing to the Dominican Republic, 94-67, in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Belgrade, Serbia on Thursday (early Friday morning, Manila time).
An 18-4 run by the Dominican Republic at the end of the third quarter turned the tides against Gilas, who at one point led by eight, 33-25.
The damage only grew in the fourth quarter when Gilas' deficit ballooned to as big as 27.
It looked like the youth of the Gilas squad finally turned into a disadvantage as turnovers hurt the team's bid for the Games.
The game was tied at 47-all after an Ange Kouame bucket with 7:09 left in the third before the Dominican Republic, led by Victor Liz and Gelvis Solano, blew the game wide open.
They thus face off against Italy in the semifinals of the OQT with a 1-1 slate.
Jordan Heading and Kouame were the only Filipino cagers who finished with double-digit scoring with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Kai Sotto had eight points, four rebounds and a block, while SJ Belangel tallied 10 assists to go along with six points.
Liz and Solano torched their young counterparts with a combined 44-point effort.
Gilas goes home with a 0-2 record as the drought for an Olympic bid continues.
The Philippines last qualified for Olympic basketball in 1972.