CHINA showcased its might, size and firepower as it overwhelmed Gilas Pilipinas, 105-61, dethroning the Philippines in the process at the close of the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball group stage on Monday at the Aichi International Arena in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The Chinese used their massive size advantage to dominate the boards and shoot easily from point blank, leading to a huge 66-30 halftime lead.
China remained relentless in the last two quarters, bloating its load to as high as 45 points several times.
While the Philippines managed to cut China’s lead to 78-40 after Sedrick Barefield led a mini Gilas, the Chinese pressed on from there, leading to a 3-0 record to lead Group C at the end of the group stage.
The Philippines ended the group stage with a solitary win in three games, having lost to Bahrain, 85-89 in its tournament debut last Friday.
Gilas’ lone win was a 109-78 rout of Kazakhstan.
Gilas entered the game needing to win outright against China, or lose by not more than 37 points.
But the Chinese’s sheer might on both ends of the floor clearly overwhelmed the undersized Filipinos, who entered the tournament without naturalized player Justin Brownlee, and their best players from FIBA tournament led by Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and Dwight Ramos.
The Philippines came into the game carrying a +27 point differential, and the best third-placed squad.
The victory was a sweet revenge for China, which bowed to the Philippines, 77-76 in the 2023 edition in Hangzhou.
That semifinal game saw China blow a huge 20-point lead, allowing Brownlee to take charge in Gilas’ massive fightback en route to humiliating the host in its home floor.
Jordan, which the Philippines defeated in the 2023 edition for the gold, advanced to the quarterfinals, along with Saudi Arabia, having been the two best third-placed teams with a similar 1-2 win-loss record and a point differential of -5 and -11 respectively.
The Philippines held an inferior -17 point difference.
Unlike Gilas’ 31-point win against Kazakhstan where it nailed 16 threes, the Filipinos struggled from long range, connecting on just 7-of-30.
China’s size also overwhelmed the shorter Philippine side, 55-36 in rebounds.
Hulking Wang Junjie led China with 20 points and 14 rebounds, guard Liao Sanning added 14. Yongxi Cui also had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Calvin Oftana led Gilas with 13 points, while Sedrick Barefield had nine.
