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Friday, March 29, 2024

Ramos stars as undermanned Gilas routs India

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By Peter Atencio

            Undermanned Gilas Pilipinas breezed past India, 79-63, to finish second place at the end of third window encounters of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

            The Filipinos, playing with only 10 men, got a game-high 21 points from Dwight Ramos as they ended their Group A stint with two wins and two losses.

Despite the loss, India still advanced to Group E with the Philippines and New Zealand, along with Lebanon (4-1), Saudi Arabia (3-2), and Jordan (3-2). The fourth window will be from August 25 to 29.

The Philippines advanced to the second round as one of the pre-qualified host teams, regardless of the first round results and standings.

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The Nenad Vucinic-coached Gilas played without Dave Ildefonso, who sustained a knee injury during the Philippines’ road game against New Zealand last Thursday.

“It was an important game for us. We needed a win. And we had a tough set against New Zealand,” said Vucinic.

“It was difficult to play the Tall Blacks. We were disappointed with our performance with New Zealand and we needed to bounce back,” added Vucinic.

Led by Muin Bek Hafeez with 13 points, India fell behind in the first quarter and could not get things going.

Dwight Ramos: 21 points (fiba.basketball)

            Ramos started strong with nine points in the first 10 minutes as Gilas immediately took control with 21-10 advantage.

Kiefer Ravena added 12 points, while William Navarro shot 11 for Gilas.

Ramos’ two charities in the final 9:09 of third period saw Gilas moving away with their biggest edge at 24, 48-24, in the third period.

Gilas will be joining the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup,which begins on July 12 in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is bracketed with India, Lebanon and New Zealand in Group D of the continental meet.

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