Andray Blatche delivered 24 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Gilas Pilipinas tamed Lebanon, 80-72, last night to advance into the semifinals of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsa, China.

The Filipinos will face Japan in the semis at 9:30 p.m. tonight, shooting for a back-to-back final appearance in FIBA Asia Championship. The Philippines finished first runner-up to Iran two years ago when the tournament was held in Manila.

While Japan could be a tough opponent in the semifinals, the Gilas five need to replicate the moves they made in the second round of the tournament when they prevailed over the Japanese side, 73-66.

Against Lebanon last night, Jayson Castro had another big night for the Filipinos as he led all scorers with 25 points, but Blatche'S dominant presence inside the paint made a huge difference.

Leading by four points in the first quarter at 20-16, the Gilas five never relinquished the advantage even as Lebanon tried to match them point by point in the second canto. Halftime score was 37-32 in favor of the Filipinos.

Gilas continued to dictate the tempo of the game in the third quarter but could not shrugged off the hard working Lebanese.

Up by 14 points in the final quarter, the Filipinos found themselves working extra hard to protect the lead as the Lebanese cut down the deficit to four points with 5 minutes left in the game.

Two free-throws and a jumper from Blatche gave Gilas some breathing room as the Philippines went on a 6-0 run. Statistics from the game showed the Philippines bench outscoring Lebanon, 25-8.*NAB

back to top

Nietes starts US training for Oct. 17 fight vs. Alejo
Gilas beats Lebanon, faces Japan in semis