PH ends 40-year drought in Basketball World Cup

FINALLY, A WIN!

It may have taken four decades but the Philippine national men’s basketball team nicknamed the Gilas Pilipinas sure made it was worth the wait as the Nationals defeated a rough-and-tumble Senegal side, 81-79, in overtime to end their stint in the Fiba Basketball World Cup on the highest of notes last night at the City Arena in Seville, Spain.

After suffering four close losses against world basketball powers that the Gilas had no business hanging around with, the Filipinos were adamant that they have had enough and disposed of a surprising Senegal team that is already assured of a round-of-16 spot.

With naturalized player Andray Blatche riding the bench for good after incurring his fifth and last foul with 1:55 remaining in the extra session, the Gilas turned to rarely-used Cebuano big man June Mar Fajardo and veteran skipper Jimmy Alapag, who delivered the telling points that gave the Philippines its first win on the world stage since July 12, 1974 when it defeated the Central African Republic, 87-86, during the 1974 Fiba World Championships in Puerto Rico.

Fittingly, it was Alapag, who is retiring from national team duties after this tournament, who hit the dagger freethrows as he made two to push the Gilas lead to five, 81-76, before Maleye Ndoye hit a meaningless three-pointer at the buzzer to peg the final score.

Cebuano June Mar Fajardo of the Philippines secures a rebound against Senegal’s Gorgui Dieng in a Group B match. Fajardo had 15 points and nine rebounds in the Gilas’ first win after 40 years in the Fiba World Cup. (FIBA.com)

The 5-foot-9 Alapag led the Gilas with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists while Blatche had the same number of points and grabbed 14 boards. Fajardo, the former ace of the University of Cebu and the reigning MVP of the PBA, made the most out of his opportunities to score 15 points and nab nine rebounds.

Much like what the script has been for the Gilas in this competition, they raced off to leads that went as high as 15 in the third period. But just like in their losses to Argentina and Puerto Rico, the Filipinos let their guard down and Senegal took advantage to send the game to overtime.

Gorgui Dieng, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, paced Senegal with 26 points.

The Philippines lost its chance to advance to the knockout stage after losing to Puerto Rico, 77-73, Wednesday night.