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FIBA World Cup: Despite more dynamic start, Gilas falls to Serbia

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/reuters/09/02/20190903-gilas.jpg"/><figcaption>Nikola Jokic and Serbia took a while to assert their dominance against Gilas Pilipinas, before coming away with a 59-point win on Monday. Reuters stringer</figcaption></figure></div><h3>Pinoys relegated to classification phase</h3>FOSHAN, China (UPDATE) -- Gilas Pilipinas suffered a second consecutive defeat in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, losing to powerhouse Serbia on Monday night at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center here.Two days after absorbing a 46-point beatdown at Italy&#x27;s hands, the Philippines lost big anew -- this time to the fourth-ranked team in the world. A full-strength Serbia, anchored by Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic, was simply too strong for Gilas Pilipinas. The Serbs improved their Group D record to 2-0, securing their spot in the second round ahead of their highly anticipated clash against Italy.The Philippines, meanwhile, dropped to 0-2 and thus has been relegated to the classification phase.“Of course, we’re all disappointed,” said Gilas coach Yeng Guiao after the game. “It’s really the same disappointment that we feel.”“But I feel, overall, this is a better effort, actually,” he added. Gilas Pilipinas had a much better start against Serbia than it did against Italy, and trailed by just 15 points, 28-13, after the opening frame.Much like he did against Italy, CJ Perez proved to be the spark plug Gilas needed. The Columbian Dyip rookie was fearless, driving to the teeth of the Serbia defense for lay-ups. His steal off a Serbian inbound pass for a quick basket made it an 11-point game, 34-23, with 7:28 left in the second quarter.Fellow rookie Robert joined the fray moments later, as he scored five straight points to again trim the deficit to 11, 39-28, with still 5:42 to go.But Serbia pulled away from there, as Nikola Jokic nailed a triple that spurred an 18-2 run. Gilas’ turnovers were crucial, with Kiefer Ravena giving the ball away in back-to-back possessions that led to easy buckets by Stefan Jovic and Vladimir Lucic.Ravena drilled a 3-pointer to make up for his earlier miscues, but Serbia was already well in control and headed into the break with a commanding 62-35 advantage.Serbia then scored the first 13 points of the third quarter, and Gilas faded from there.“Serbia’s just too big, too good,” Guiao admitted. “We just tried to keep the game as close as we can, for as long as we can.”“Apparently, we couldn’t keep it too close for that long.”Perez led Gilas with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Paul Lee dialed up the aggressiveness and scored 15 points. June Mar Fajardo bucked an ankle sprain to put up 8 points and 6 rebounds.But Andray Blatche struggled, making only 2 of his 10 attempts for 5 points. Gilas again was anemic from behind the arc, as the Filipinos converted just 4 of 24 three-pointers. They shot 37% from the field for the game, and committed 14 turnovers that Serbia turned into 28 points.Nemanja Bjelica topscored for Serbia with 20 points, going 7-of-7 from the field. Jokic had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in less than 19 minutes of playing time. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 17 points.Serbia, as a team, made 75% of its shots — including 36 of 42 two-pointers. They led by as much as 59 points in the game.Gilas Pilipinas will complete its group round schedule against Angola on Wednesday.<div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</div>

Gilas Pilipinas suffered a second consecutive defeat in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, losing to the No. 4 team in the world on Monday night.

Gilas Pilipinas suffered a second consecutive defeat in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, losing to the No. 4 team in the world on Monday night.

FIBA World Cup: Despite more dynamic start, Gilas falls to Serbia

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FIBA World Cup: Despite more dynamic start, Gilas falls to Serbia

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 02, 2019 09:17 PM PHT

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Updated September 02, 2019 10:17 PM PHT

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2019 FIBA World Cup

Gilas Pilipinas

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