Gilas repeats over Japan, faces old rival China for Rio ticket

MANILA, Philippines -- Barely 24 hours after an emotional win against Lebanon, Gilas Pilipinas looked spent in the first three quarters before getting a second wind in the final canto enough to overtake Japan and punched a ticket to the gold medal game with an 81-70 win late Friday night at Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium in Hunan, China.

MVP candidate Jayson Castro delivered once again while Andray Blatche pumped in another double-double effort but it was veteran gunner Dondon Hontiveros who made the biggest difference.

The 38-year old Hontiveros, probably playing his last FIBA Asia tournament, hit six triples en route to 18 big points.  His last triple at the 1:23 mark gave Gilas a nine-point buffer, 77-68, that killed whatever hopes of a Japan comeback.

Hontiveros bailed Gilas out everytime Japan closed the gap hitting three timely triples in the payoff period.  He went 6-of-9 from beyond the arc in his best showing in this tournament. Entering the semifinal game, the Cebuano Hotshot was struggling with his outside shots burying only three of 14 in Gilas' previous four games. 

Ranidel de Ocampo also played a key role while Gabe Norwood more than made up for his offensive woes with crucial defensive stops.  

Japan took the fight to Gilas with its top gunner Makoto Hiejima waxing firing 28 points in the first three quarters.  But Hiejima faded in the stretch as Norwood and the other Gilas defensive stoppers alternately shut him down in the fourth quarter. 

Castro, meanwhile, delivered 20 points and seven assists that kept Gilas afloat in the first three quarters.

Blatche finished with 22 and 13 boards as he primed up for the home team, whose players he's already familiar with after playing in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) last season.

China dethroned Iran earlier with an emphatic 70-57 victory over an ecstatic home crowd which is expected to jeer Blatche and Gilas in the gold medal match. The Chinese will be looking for redemption after not reaching the medal round in the Manila edition two years ago.

At stake in the championship match is the lone automatic spot in the Rio Olympics next year.

The PHL-China gold medal match will be played at 8:30 p.m. after the battle for third between Japan and Iran.