 |
| Jericho Cruz bounced back mightily to lead Gilas to a crucial FIBA ACQ win against Thailand. FIBA |
PARANAQUE--Guam weathered a late storm from Thailand and kept its hopes of making the FIBA Asia Cup alive with an 89-81 win on Day 2 of the March window of the qualifying phase on Thursday night at the University of Taipei Tian-Mu Campus Gymnasium.
Needing to win by a huge margin in hopes of putting much pressure on Thailand, Guam held an 81-61 lead with 4:33 left in the game.
However, Thailand caught fire and went on an 18-2 run that cut the lead down to just four, 83-79, with 43 seconds left.
Guam eventually pulled away in the end behind clutch free throws from Earnest Ross and Jericho Cruz.
Held to only eight points in a 40-point loss to host team Chinese Taipei the night before, Cruz put up 21 points, three rebounds, eight assists, and one steal to lead Guam, which finished its campaign in the wildcard phase at 1-1.
Ross added 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Freddie Lish led Thailand, which took the Day 1 bye, with 20 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
Chanathip Jakrawan added 10 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists.
Cruz could join San Miguel teammates June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez, who both already qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup proper as part of Gilas Pilipinas, in the said tournament if Chinese Taipei beats Thailand on Friday night.
A win by the Thai side, though, would lead to a three-way tie at 1-1 with Chinese Taipei and Thailand, the two teams with the best quotients, moving on.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
.jpg)
