Gilas falls short vs Turkish quintet

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas sustained a 73-84 defeat to Turkey in a tuneup game in Istanbul Thursday night (early yesterday in Manila) that exposed the need to level up on defense against a major facet of Euro teams – the three-point shot.

With EuroLeague veteran and 2023 NBA draftee Tarik Biberovic as spearhead, the world No. 24 Turkish drilled in 14 of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc to seize control then fended off the repeated rallies of the No. 37 Filipinos to prevail. 

Biberovic torched Gilas with five triples, including the big-time long bomb that ultimately sealed the game in the dying seconds, 81-73, en route to a game-high 23.

In contrast, the Nationals made only five of their 19 tries from deep.

Justin Brownlee produced 21 points but had six turnovers while June Mar Fajardo posted a 17-11 double-double to show the way in the first of two friendlies designed to prepare Gilas for the duels with higher-ranked Euro sides Latvia and Georgia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on July 2 to 7.

“It was a tough loss against Turkey. We had our first taste of the type of opposition we will be facing in the OQT,” said Gilas team manager Richard del Rosario.

The Nationals kept it close against a Turkish crew that played without its NBA players but in the end, failed to make the big plays to score an upset.

“While others may see it as a satisfying first game, our team mindset is - almost is not enough. We only have one shot to make it to the Olympics and we cannot be satisfied with almost winning,” said Del Rosario.

“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,” said Del Rosario.

It will be a quick turnaround as the Tim Cone-coached cagers travel to Poland for their next part of this Euro camp. The Nationals face the No. 15 Polish Saturday at 6 p.m. at the ArcelorMittal Park in Sosnowiec, Poland (12 midnight Sunday in Manila).