The Gilas Pilipinas were defeated 73-60 by Egypt in the opening game of the 2021 King Abdullah Cup at Prince Hamzah Hall in Amman, Jordan on Monday.
The Filipinos had a poor showing in their maiden match at the six-team invitational tournament, falling to a more experienced Egyptian team that is preparing for the forthcoming AfroBasket in Rwanda next month.
It was a competitive game after the first quarter, with Egypt only leading by a point, 13-12.
However, a second period in which they were outscored by eight points, 20-12, gave Egypt enough breathing room to win.
Ange Kouame and Isaac Go led Gilas with 13 points apiece. The former had 11 rebounds while the latter had two boards off the bench.
Dwight Ramos was held to only nine points in the game. He also made just four of his 11 shots, on top of five rebounds and four assists.
On his comeback to national duty since the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup last year, thirdy Ravena had a quiet eight points and eight rebounds.
Unfortunately, Gilas had a difficult time shooting 35 percent from the field, including 4-of-27 from downtown for a paltry 14 percent clip, and trailed by as many as 14 points.
Amro Abd Alhalem, the Egyptians’ star forward, led the team with 14 points, four rebounds, and five assists, while Omar Saeed Arabei had 11 points and four boards.
Gilas will try to bounce back on Tuesday when it plays Saudi Arabia at 6 PM.
The Scores:
Gilas Pilipinas 60 – Kouame 13, Go 13, Ramos 9, Ravena 8, Belangel 6, Baltazar 4, Ildefonso 3, Heading 3, Navarro 1, Matt Nieto 0, Abarrientos 0, Tamayo 0, Chiu 0.
Egypt 73 – Alhalem 14, Arabei 11, Kamal 9, Shosha 6, Hussin 6, Saleh 6, Shehata 6, Khlaf 6, Ahmad 3, Bakhet 2, Elmekawy 2, Abdelgawad 1, Abdellatif 1.
Quarters: 13-12, 33-24, 55-43, 73-60.