China ended Gilas Pilipinas’ bid to defend its Asian Games basketball crown. The Philippines suffered a 105-61 defeat at the Aichi International Arena in Japan.
The 44-point loss eliminated the defending champions from quarter-final contention. China took control early and built a 36-point half-time lead.
The Chinese team then kept the pressure on after the break. A barrage of three-pointers gave the Filipinos little chance to recover.
Hu Mingxuan and Li Yuezhuo led China’s outside shooting. Both players made three triples.
Junjie Wang led China with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Sanning Liao added 14 points and four boards.
China also used its size to control the paint. As a result, Gilas struggled to score inside.
The Chinese big men crowded the interior. Meanwhile, their shooters stretched the floor and created more space.
Gilas also struggled to defend the perimeter. China took advantage and created several good scoring chances.
The statistics highlight China’s dominance on the boards. The Chinese side won the rebounding battle 55-35.
China also controlled the offensive glass. The Filipinos faced a 16-9 disadvantage in offensive rebounds.
Filipinos booted out
A 37-point defeat could still have salvaged the Filipinos’ title-retention bid, but China appeared to be eager to finish the job as early as this stage to avenge their semi-finals loss to the Philippines in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Among the Filipinos, only Calvin Oftana finished with double digits at 13 points, followed by Sedrick Barefield with nine markers and four boards.
The crushing loss sent the Philippines to ninth place, marking the country’s worst finish in Asian Games history.
This is a stunning reversal of fate after ending the country’s 61-year gold medal drought in the quadrennial games in Hangzhou.
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