Gilas Pilipinas beat Kazakhstan, 67-65, in their final Asian Games basketball quarterfinal game at the Hwaseong Center in Incheon, South Korea.
Gilas, however, still failed to qualify for the medal rounds as the team needed to win by 11 points or more coupled by South Korea's win against Qatar later in the day to make the Final Four.
Gilas actually built an 18-point lead, 50-32, late in the third quarter.
But a 7-2 Kazakhstan run cut the lead to 13, 52-39, at the close of the period.
Kazakhstan tried to inch closer as the team came to within eight, 51-59, midway in the fourth.
But Gilas made a 5-2 mini blitz to rebuild the 11-point cushion with two minutes left in the game.
But Pavel Ilin made two free throws to spark the game-ending 9-0 Kazakhstan run that doomed Gilas' cause.
Ranidel De Ocampo found Marcus Douthit inside, but his pass was too strong, and Kazakhstan got the steal, leading to the Dmitri Gavrilov basket cutting the lead further to seven.
After Gilas missed triples on the other end, the team intentionally fouled Kazakhstan, leading to five charities moving the latter to within two, 67-65.
The game took a strange turn when Jimmy Alapag passed the ball to Douthit for an own basket.
But the Iranian referee nullified the basket, giving Kazakhstan the ball back.
Anatoliy Kolesnikov intentionally missed two free throws to keep Gilas from forcing overtime.
Kazakhstan can clinch the last semifinal berth if Qatar loses to South Korea in a game ongoing as of press time.
But a 7-2 Kazakhstan run cut the lead to 13, 52-39, at the close of the period.
Kazakhstan tried to inch closer as the team came to within eight, 51-59, midway in the fourth.
But Gilas made a 5-2 mini blitz to rebuild the 11-point cushion with two minutes left in the game.
But Pavel Ilin made two free throws to spark the game-ending 9-0 Kazakhstan run that doomed Gilas' cause.
Ranidel De Ocampo found Marcus Douthit inside, but his pass was too strong, and Kazakhstan got the steal, leading to the Dmitri Gavrilov basket cutting the lead further to seven.
After Gilas missed triples on the other end, the team intentionally fouled Kazakhstan, leading to five charities moving the latter to within two, 67-65.
The game took a strange turn when Jimmy Alapag passed the ball to Douthit for an own basket.
But the Iranian referee nullified the basket, giving Kazakhstan the ball back.
Anatoliy Kolesnikov intentionally missed two free throws to keep Gilas from forcing overtime.
Kazakhstan can clinch the last semifinal berth if Qatar loses to South Korea in a game ongoing as of press time.
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