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Gilas bows to Canada 150 in Jones Cup debut

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Gilas' return to the Jones Cup did not go well, falling to Canada 150, 77-90, at the Taipei Peace International Basketball Hall in Taipei on Saturday.

Turnovers slowed down Gilas in the first half, and that made the difference as Canada 150 blitzed in the second quarter to built a double-digit spread Gilas found hard to overcome.

Gilas did have a good start, taking a 20-19 lead after the first quarter and was even up, 26-24, in the second.

Canada 150, however, pounced on Gilas' errors and opened a 44-34 lead by halftime. Gilas committed 16 turnovers in the first half. Canada 150 would protect the lead in the third period.

Gilas got a sign of life when Matt Wright made six straight points to cut the lead down to eight, 68-60, but that would be the closest the Filipino team can go as Canada 150 dominated the rest of the payoff period to seal the win.

Garrett Williamson led Canada 150 with 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, while Joey Haywood, Diego Kapelan, and Michael Kyser each chipped in 12 points.

Kiefer Ravena came off the bench to lead Gilas with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Christian Standhardinger came close to a double-double in his Gilas debut, tallying 10 rebounds and nine points.

Kobe Paras saw limited minutes in his own seniors team debut, but he contributed four points and one block.

Mike Myers struggled in his own debut with the Philippine national team, only making seven points and nine rebounds with four turnovers.

Mac Belo was also quiet in his first tournament game since missing out the Gilas practices and even the PBA Commissioner's Cup with a meniscus tear, tallying three markers and one dime.

Box Scores:

Canada 150 90-Williamson 15, Kyser 12, Kapelan 12, Haywood 12, Wood 9, Smith 9, Friesen 8, Sutherland 5, Keith 4, Bachynski 2, Morgan 2

Philippines 77-Ravena 12, Parks 11, Cruz 10, Standhardinger 9, Wright 9, Myers 7, Pogoy 4, Paras 4, Ferrer 3, Belo 3, Jose 0

Quarterscores: 19-20, 44-34, 66-54, 90-77

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno