A hot-shooting Turkey squad was too much to handle for Gilas Pilipinas in their friendly battle.
Almost but not quite.
Gilas Pilipinas succumbed against Turkey, 74-83, in a tune-up match in preparation for the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Friday, June 28 (PH time).
Justin Brownlee led the squad with 21 points and five rebounds, while June Mar Fajardo added a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, but the Nationals couldn’t overcome a red-hot Turkish shooting all-game long.
Turkey, who played without NBA players Alperen Sengun and Cedi Osman, connected on 14 triples compared to Gilas’ five, keeping the Nationals at bay en route to a home win.
EuroLeague veteran and 2023 NBA Draftee Tarik Biberovic led Turkey with 23 points built on five triples, including a dagger triple that gave the squad a 81-73 lead down the stretch.
After a close first half at 42-40, former Philadelphia 76er Furkan Korkmaz scored 10 of his 12 points in the third period, helping the Turkish squad build a 64-56 lead entering the final frame. Korkmaz finished with a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe.
However, Gilas Pilipinas responded with a 11-4 run, capped by a Brownlee triple, to inch closer at 68-65.
But the world no. 24 countered with a 8-0 blitz to restore a comfortable lead they never squandered 76-65.
Carl Tamayo had nine points in the loss, while Kai Sotto logged in seven points, four assists, and three rebounds before fouling out in the last 2:35 minutes of the game. Sotto and Fajardo combined for nine fouls, limiting their effectiveness as the Nationals gave up 22 free throw attempts that resulted in 18 makes for Turkey.
Dwight Ramos tallied four points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
"We move on to the next game with a firmer belief that we can hold our own against higher ranked teams with a real chance of reaching our mission of making it to Paris,” Gilas team manager Richard Del Rosario spoke after the loss
Up next for Gilas Pilipinas is the world no. 15 Poland in their final tune-up duel before the OQT.