Puerto Rico leads Gilas Pilipinas in 3Q, 61-57

Philippines’ guard Jim Alapag. AFP FILE PHOTO

SEVILLE, Spain – After shooting 53% from the field in the first half, the Filipinos fired blanks in the third quarter and found themselves in a 57-61 hole going into the playoff frame.

JJ Barea held the Puerto Ricans together and their defense made the Filipinos bleed for their points as Gilas lost what was once a 27-13 lead after reserve center Jorge Bryan Diaz put back an Alex Franklin miss for 58-57 going into the final 53 seconds of the third.

The Philippines went scoreless in the final 1:52 of the third after Paul Lee scored the final bucket that gave the Filipinos a 57-52 advantage.

Carlos Rivera knocked down a trey from deep right corner with seven seconds left to round out scoring.