Isaiah Austin. Photo from Fiba.com
With its Iranian foes imposing their height advantage, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas fell to Petrochimi, 87-66, Tuesday in the 2017 Fiba Champions Cup at Chenzhou Sports Center in Chenzhou, China.
The Philippines dropped to 2-2 at third place in Group A, putting them in a collision course against Andray Blatche and his Chinese ballclub Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Isaiah Austin paced Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks, while Ravena got 20 markers, five boards, and three assists in the defeat.
Norbert Torres added nine points and four rebounds for the Filipinos, who failed to sustain their hot shooting from their game against Mono Vampire last Sunday and only drilled four of their 19 shots from three this time.
Chooks-to-Go lost hold of the game in the second quarter when Willie Warren anchored Petrochimi’s 27-point outburst to grab a 43-29 halftime lead that ballooned to as high as 21, 57-36, with 3:57 left in the third frame.
Austin and Ravena kept the fight going for Chooks, cutting the deficit to as low as 10, 66-56, with 6:54 remaining in the game, but the Iranians answered with a 14-0 blast to regain the 24-point advantage, 80-56 with 3:36 remaining capped off by a pair of free throws from Saeid Davarpanah.
Warren unfurled 12 of his 30 points in the killer second quarter, while Sajjad Mashayekhi got 15 markers, six rebounds, and five dimes.
Behnam Yakhchali also chimed in 12 markers, six boards, and three assists, while national team veteran Arsalan Kazemi contributed nine markers and 18 rebounds in the resounding win.
The Scores:
PETROCHIMI 87 – Warren 30, Mashayekhi 15, Yakhchali 12, Kazemi 9, Davarpanah 8, Niktash 5, Zakeri 4, Mirzaeitalarposhti 2, Sahakian 2, Bahramzad 0.
CHOOKS-TO-GO PILIPINAS 66 – Austin 20, Ravena 20, Torres 9, Jero. Teng 5, Revilla 4, Manuel 3, Jeri. Teng 3, Vosotros 2, Cruz 0, Jose 0, Tamsi 0.
Quarters: 16-14, 43-29, 61-45, 87-66.