Gilas Pilipinas takes down Spartak Primorye in physical match

TAIPEI: Physical play against a foe that was taller and beefier?
Gilas Pilipinas was just too happy to oblige.
Russia’s Spartak Primorye literally drew first blood but never got to crack the Filipinos, who broke away in the second half on Tuesday to score an 85-71 victory and get back in the groove in the Jones Cup basketball tournament at the Xinchuang gymnasium here.
Sonny Thoss was bloodied up by an intentional hit at the back of the head with less than two minutes gone, walking off the court bloodied and needing five stitches.
Like brothers in arms, the rest of the Gilas crew responded and threw something back before dealing the Russians the hurt of losing for the first time in four games in the tournament while rising to 2-1 overall.
Gilas stayed alive in the title hunt even with powerhouse Iran upping its record to 4-0 with a convincing win over the Wellington Saints of New Zealand later in the day.
The Filipinos will still clash with the Iranians on Thursday for what could go down as the championship match in the single-round event that awards the title to the team with the best record.
“If they had backed down from them (Russians), they would have had to deal with me,” Gilas coach Tab Baldwin said with pride minutes after getting five players in twin digits led by Ranidel de Ocampo’s 13 points.
De Ocampo, who was a virtual non-entity in an 82-70 loss to South Korea on Monday night, scored eight of his total in the final frame, including two clutch triples that kept the Russians at bay.
The game was rough and tough in the first half, with the Filipinos taking just a 43-40 lead into the third period.
But the second half was an entirely different story as the Russians were denied their sweet spot inside and forced to some bad outside shots, making just 10 points for the quarter as the Filipinos broke away.
Gilas led by as large as 13 points and were never headed, with those De Ocampo triples stinging Spartak.
Next up for the Nationals, the champions here in 2012 with a naturalized player in Marcus Douthit, is Japan at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Andray Blatche, Gilas’ new naturalized find, missed a third straight game after flying back to the United States to attend the funeral of his uncle. The 6-foot-11 former Brooklyn Net could be back in time for the Filipinos’ final two games, which would be against the Americans and Chinese Taipei-B.
The game against the Russians also showcased another facet of the game of Terrence Romeo, who quarterbacked Gilas with tremendous effect.
Baldwin sat down Jason Castro, Gabe Norwood, Marc Pingris and Gary David on Tuesday night and had to play Romeo at the point guard spot for most of the night.
The former Far Eastern ace, who finished the last season of the PBA as its top local scorer, tossed in just 11 points — his fewest in three games — but held the team together during critical times.
Matt Ganuelas-Rosser also played very well, shooting 10 points in 28 minutes with Calvin Abueva coming up with his usual contributions of 10 points, eight rebounds and the hard-nosed stand on both ends.
Shooting guard Kostiantyn Glazyrin paced the Russians with 23 points with starting point guard Aleksei Goliakhov contributing 12.
Meanwhile, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas also on Tuesday told reporters here that Jordan Clarkson had declared himself to be “all in” for Gilas Pilipinas up until 2024, or the equivalent of three Olympic cycles starting next year in Brazil.
Clarkson watched the first three games of the Nationals in the Jones Cup and will fly back to the United States on Thursday to iron things out with his family and the Los Angeles Lakers and to gather additional documents to prove his eligibility to the Fiba.
The 6-foot-5 point guard is being eyed to play in the Fiba-Asia Olympic qualifier in China later this month and Clarkson, according to SBP vice-chairman Ricky Vargas, said that he is all in.
The SBP also said that the additional eligibility requirements Fiba is requesting for could be easily satisfied.