Jones Cup: Gilas fends off Japan for 3rd straight win

Christian Standhardinger finishes off a fastbreak with a two-handed flush to highlight the telling 12-0 for Gilas in the fourth period.

TAIPEI – Gilas Pilipinas took quite a long time before getting its offense going fluidly on Tuesday afternoon and needed one big burst late in the fourth period to dust off Japan, 100-85, and win a third straight game in the Jones Cup Invitational at Taipei Peace Basketball Hall here.

A 12-0 run was what the Filipinos needed as they were able to scoot away from a 73-72 game and leave the young Japanese behind that kept Gilas in the hunt for the title.

“In an elite tournament lie this, there’s no such thing as an easy game,” Gilas coach Chot Reyes told international media, who were all wondering why the Filipinos came out flat for the second straight game since thumping host squad Chinese Taipei A on Sunday night.

“They (Japanese) gave us everything we could handle,” Reyes said. “In the end, we were fortunate to pull it out.”

Next up for the Filipinos will be South Korea at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

With a 3-1 record, the Filipinos are still in the hunt but would need to see Canada 150 lose at least one game to a foe that Gilas has defeated in order to forge a tie for first and win in the quotient.

Christian Standhardinger scored 22 points and had 15 rebounds, with import Mike Myers having 17 and 17 as they formed a double-edged blade in the paint that the Japanese didn’t have an answer to all game long.

“We needed a lot of focus and we weren’t able to execute that in the first half,” the 28-year-old Standhardinger, who is pondering on starting a PBA career when the team planes back home, said. “We had the urgency in the fourth period and got going on defense.”

Matthew Wright was in twin digits for the third straight game with 15, with Kiefer Ravena and Jio Jalalon, Reyes’ point guards, shooting 11 each while combining for five assists and three steals.

Represented here by its Under-24 squad, Japan was paced by the 22 points of forward Yusei Suguira.

The scores:

GILAS PILIPINAS 100 – Standhardinger 22, Myers 17, Wright 15, Ravena 11, Jalalon 11, Cruz 7, Pessumal 6, Pogoy 5, Paras 4, Tolomia 2, Belo 0, Gotladera 0.

JAPAN 85 – Sugiura 22, Vendrame 12, Hiraiwa 12, Hara 12, Ando 11, Nomoto 9, Tawatari 5, Ikuhara 2, Sato 0, Taichi 0.

Quarters: 19-16, 41-42, 66-66, 100-85.