MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine men’s national basketball team moved a step closer to attaining gold in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship and booking a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics after taking down Lebanon, 82-70, on Thursday, October 1.
Behind the 25 points and 5 3-pointers of Jayson Castro - Jayson William in international play - Gilas stayed on top for most of the game and didn’t let their opponents take control of the momentum until the final buzzer.
(WATCH: Gabe Norwood throws down two-handed dunk vs Lebanon)
Andray Blatche was also impressive, finishing with 24 points and 17 boards while Terrence Romeo accounted for 10 points off the bench. Marc Pingris had 8 points and 4 rebounds.
In the semis, Gilas will take on Japan, who defeated Qatar on Thursday.
Bawji led Lebanon with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
– Rappler.com