Gilas Pilipinas ended its first tournament under new coach Tab Baldwin winless on Saturday night after falling short against Iceland, 86-76, at the end of the Toyota Four Nations Cup at Saku Suurhall Arena in Tallinn, Estonia.
Though ending the pocket tournament with a 0-3 record, the gritty Filipinos showed marked improvement each night with the match against Iceland hanging in the balance until the waning seconds.
Team Philippines, which is gearing up for the Fiba Asia Olympic qualifier scheduled in Changsha City in China’s Hunan province next month, lost to the Netherlands by 27 points on Thursday night before bowing to the host nation by 10 early on Saturday.
The Filipinos even led Iceland by seven points in the third period only to lose steam in the stretch.
Terrence Romeo showed what he can do in an international setting by scoring 10 straight points in the second quarter that had the Filipinos breathing down the Icelanders’ necks at 38-43.
Naturalized player Andray Blatche, slowly regaining top form, scored 22 points to pace the Filipinos, with Romeo contributing 17.
Jason Castro, a member of the Mythical Team in the last Fiba Asia held in Manila in 2013, chipped in with 11.
The Filipinos are expected to fly back home around 6 p.m. today to rest for a couple of days before leaving for Chinese Taipei to play in the Jones Cup tournament.
With a lineup that had June Mar Fajardo and LA Tenorio, Gilas won the Jones Cup in 2012. Tenorio, the Barangay Ginebra point guard, captured the MVP award after an awesome final game against the United States.
Marc Pingris, the third San Miguel Corp. player who initially begged off from joining the national team, is expected to rejoin the Gilas camp on Tuesday. Team officials said he would play in Taipei.
Baldwin has hinted though that he could be playing just a 12-man lineup in the Jones Cup. The Gilas training pool, including Pingris and Fil-Tongan practice player Moala Tautuaa, is 17-strong. Musong R. Castillo