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Aguilar: Teamwork keyed PH win over Qatar

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Comebacking Japeth Aguilar said Qatar proved to be a tough team to handle during Team Philippines’ 92-81 win in its closed-door FIBA Asia World Cup 2019 Qualifier Monday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Hindi basta-basta ang Qatar team. Total teamwork kami sa kanila. Sa start ng second namin sila na-pressure. Unti unti namin nakuha ang lamang,” said the 6’9” Aguilar, who returned from a one-game suspension with Matthew Wright.

When Qatar missed its outside shots in the second half, the Philippines got big plays from Aguilar’s inside game, which netted him 10 of 16 points.

The big efforts of Aguilar with Matthew Wright, allowed the Philippines to pick up its fifth win in eight games and stay on course towards earning a spot in the tournament proper.

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Coach Yeng Guiao said it felt strange for Team Philippines to play without a home crowd cheering them on.

“It’s kind of surreal. Maglalaro ka sa sariling mong bansa, sa iyong home court and nobody is cheering for you. So, ang ginawa namin, kami na lang ang nag-cheer sa sarili namin,” said Guiao.

“The first half was just really bad shooting percentage from the three-point range. We were 6 percent. And to think that these are the best shooters in the country,” added Guiao, who experienced his first win as a national coach after the Philippines took a 73-81 loss to Iran in Tehran last Friday.

The Philippines next faces Kazakhstan in an away-game on Nov. 30.

Team Pilipinas is now in third spot behind Australia, which leads Group F with its 7-1 win-loss card, and after winning over Kazakhstan, 94-41.

Iran is at second (6-2) after a 70-56 loss Japan.”‹

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