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MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas is exiting the 2nd Doha International Cup with back-to-back losses after absorbing a 31-point beating at the hands of Egypt, 86-55, early Monday morning (Manila time) at the Qatar University Sports and Events Complex.
Egypt erupted with a 29-10 fourth quarter, raining down 11 3-pointers on the Filipinos to give them a rough exit in the pocket tournament.
Ehab Amin Saleh paced the African country with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Youssef Wael Aboushousha added 11 markers while Omar Tarek Oraby had 10.
Egypt erupted in the fourth quarter, turning a 57-45 lead to a 73-50 advantage with a massive 16-5 run capped by a layup by Aboushousha with 5:07 left.
A Carl Tamayo layup finally broke the dry spell for the Philippines, 52-73, but Egypt’s offense was just too hot to handle.
The Egyptians finished the game off with a 13-3 salvo to grab the 31-point spread — the biggest of the night.
They started to heat up in the second quarter, turning a 23-22 lead into a 30-23 advantage after an alley-oop finish by Anas Osama Mahmoud.
A layup by June Mar Fajardo halted the run, but a 9-1 run built on consecutive 3-pointers by Mohamed Taha Mohamed and Oraby gave Egypt a 39-26 lead, before a hook by AJ Edu trimmed the Philippines’ deficit to 28-39 heading into the half.
The nearest Gilas got to was nine points, 40-49, in the third, after a layup by Scottie Thompson.
The Philippines could not creep closer as the outside game of Egypt was just too much.
Justin Brownlee was the lone bright spot for the Nationals, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds and an assist. Tamayo added nine points off the bench, while Scottie Thompson and Dwight Ramos finished with six points each.
Egypt shot 32-of-72 from the field, good for 44%, including 11-of-32 from beyond the arc. Gilas, on the other hand, made just 21 of their 56 attempts from the floor for a 37% clip.
The Philippines is bowing out of the competition with a 1-2 win-loss record, its lone win a come-from-behind one against Qatar in its opening game.
The squad will now shift its focus to the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, taking on Chinese Taipei on February 20 and New Zealand on February 23.
Gilas already qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup, which is set in Saudi Arabia in August.
— Ralph Edwin Villanueva
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
