Gallinari, Italy too much for Gilas in pocket tournament

Photo taken from Italbasket Facebook page

Italy scored the first 22 points of the game on its way to an easy 106-70 win over the Philippines in a four-nation tournament early Sunday morning (Manila time) at The Paladozza in Bologna, Italy.

Gilas Pilipinas was scoreless in the first five minutes and it didn’t get any better from there as the Italians, led by NBA veterans Danilo Gallinari of the Denver Nuggets and Marco Bellineli of the Sacramento Kings, kept pounding.

Italy took a 40-7 lead at the half where Gilas was held to just 29% from the field, including a 1-of-8 clip from beyond-the-arc while the Italians shot 69% and were a perfect 5-of-5 from the three-point area.

Gallinari hit 13 of his 20 points in the first half while Bellineli added 11 points as Italy faces Canada to cap off the tournament.

Gilas showed some fight and had a much better outing in the last two periods with Andray Blatche asserting himself more and Troy Rosario giving the team a lift.

Blatche, who only shot six points in the first half, finished with a game-high 21 points while Rosario scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. Terrence Romeo also wound up 10 points.

The Philippines ends the tournament against China early Monday morning (Manila time). The Chinese got steamrolled by the Canadians, 95-69, in their first game.