Gilas suffers late rout vs Lebanon

MANILA, Philippines -- Gilas Pilipinas lost steam in the fourth quarter and absorbed a 21-point beating at the hands of Lebanon, 75-54, in the 2nd Doha Invitational Cup early Sunday (Manila time) in Qatar.

Gilas thus took its first loss in the pocket tourney after grabbing a come-from-behind 74-71 victory over the hosts less than 24 hours prior.

Jad Khalil and Gerard Hadidian spearheaded Lebanon with 18 points apiece. Karim Zeinoun and James Majok added 13 and 12 markers, respectively.

The Nationals led by five, 48-43, in the third quarter after a turnaround jumper by Justin Brownlee.

Lebanon, though, overtook Gilas with an 8-0 run to end the frame and grab a 51-48 lead heading into the fourth.

A putback by AJ Edu to start the fourth cut the Philippines’ deficit to one, 50-51, within the first minute of the fourth quarter.

But 14 straight points by the Lebanese, capped by a triple by Khalil, gave them a 15-point separation, 65-50, with 5:04 remaining.

A split from the line by Chris Newsome and a jumper by Calvin Oftana finally broke the ice for Gilas, 53-65, but it was not enough to mount a comeback.

A 10-1 blitz to end the game set the final score.

Brownlee paced Gilas with 21 points, while Oftana backstopped with 10. Scottie Thompson chipped in seven markers and 11 boards.

The Filipinos will try to finish the pocket tourney strong as they take on Egypt early Monday morning (Manila time).

After the Doha tournament, Gilas will shift its focus on the finale indow of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.