Calvin Abueva was one of the key players for Gilas Pilipinas during its win over Chinese Taipei-A to open the Philippines’ 2015 Jones Cup campaign Sunday night. Musong Castillo/Philippine Daily Inquirer
TAIPEI – There wasn’t a feeling of déjà vu, the Gilas Pilipinas newcomers made sure of that.
Playing in front of what could be the most hostile environment in the Asian region, the Filipinos on Sunday night checked an alarming second half skid to get back at Chinese Taipei-A, 77-69, for a rip-roaring Jones Cup start at Xinchuang gymnasium here.
Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva introduced themselves to the international stage in a swashbuckling way, bailing the Filipinos out in the fourth quarter after Gilas had come from a woeful drought in the third to lose a 16-point halftime lead.
The win, carved out in front of a jampacked Taiwanese crowd that cheered every Gilas blunder, avenged an 84-77 loss in the preliminary round of the Fiba-Asia Championship in Manila in 2012.
That defeat also had the Filipinos losing a formidable lead in the waning minutes, with Sunday’s return match looking to take the same direction after the Taiwanese drew level at 54 entering the fourth by holding Gilas to just seven third quarter points.
“I don’t really want to get carried away with this win. We worked hard to win it, but there are many things to work on,” Gilas coach Tab Baldwin said. “The big thing for me, in terms of the win, is that the fans here and back home will enjoy it.
“There will be millions of fans who will be happy with this win.”
Abueva, a first-time National, and Romeo, whom the enemy had little idea of, took turns in hitting the shots that told and combined 13 points in the final period.
And it was doubly sweet since the Filipinos pulled it out without the help of a naturalized player in Andray Blatche, who went back to the United States on Saturday morning to attend the funeral of his uncle.
“I feel very happy, because we were able to give every Filipino that came out here (to watch) a win,” Romeo, who went 8-of-15 from the field to finish with a game-high 18 points, told a packed press room.
The loss dropped the hosts to 1-1, their first victory coming over Japan, 84-82, in overtime on Saturday.
Romeo was at his daredevil, acrobatic best, while Abueva held nothing back and held his own in helping the Filipinos negate a size deficiency, which was pronounced even more in the final five minutes when Gilas lost big men Moala Tautuaa and Asi Taulava to fouls one after the other.
Abueva, the Alaska Aces’ undersized power forward, added 15 points and five rebounds.
After going scoreless in the last 5:04 of the third, the Filipinos scored the first seven of the fourth and regained control they never lost the rest of the way.
Abueva and Romeo had triples each in the fourth quarter, and both came during critical times with Abueva’s giving the Philippines a 64-59 lead with 6:16 left and Romeo’s conversion making it 71-65 with 2:20 left.
That Romeo trey beat the 24-second shotclock and deflated the Taiwanese, who turned the ball over on the other end when the veteran Tseng Wen-Ting couldn’t handle the pass.
It was the error that led to the back-breaker – a Jason Castro floater over the outstretched hand of 6-foot-10 Quincy Davis – as the Filipino crowd that begged their countrymen the entire night started shouting “Uwian na! Uwian na! (Go home! Go home!).”
The Scores:
GILAS PILIPINAS 77 – Romeo 18, Castro 16, Abueva 15, Hontiveros 9, Norwood 7, Pingris 4, Tautuaa 4, David 2, Thoss 2, Taulava 0, Ganuelas 0.
CHINESE-TAIPEI 69 – Chen 12, Davis 12, Tien 11, Tseng 11, Liu 9, Tsai 8, Lin 5, Chang 1, Chen Shih 0, Lu 0, Wu 0.
Quarters: 26-20, 47-31, 54-all, 77-69.