Photo by Fiba.com
Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas’ dream of reigning supreme in the 2017 Fiba Asia Champions Cup came to a screeching halt at the hands of China Kashgar.
The Chinese crew, made up of the core of Xinjiang Flying Tigers, imposed their will in the second half to blowout the Philippine side, 86-70, in their quarterfinals duel at Chenzhou Sports Center in Chenzhen, China on Thursday.
China Kashgar was afforded the luxury to rest Andray Blatche in the tiff as it was the duo of Darius Adams and Xi Re Li Jiang Mugedaer who did the damage and dashed Chooks’ aspirations.
Kiefer Ravena fought valiantly for Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas, firing 16 points, three rebounds, and two assists, but was largely checked by the taller opposition in the second half.
Isaiah Austin also added 16 markers, but shot 5-of-12 from the field, to go with 11 boards and two dimes, while Carl Bryan Cruz and Jett Manuel got 10 points apiece in the losing effort.
Chooks shot a horrific 5-of-23 clip from three against China Kashgar’s 14-of-35 shooting from beyond the arc.
“Proud of the guys’ effort, pero hanggang doon lang talaga,” tweeted coach Chot Reyes after the game.
Chooks-to-Go has been relegated to the classification phase, where it meets Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai of UAE on Friday with a chance to finish as high as fifth place in the continental club championship.
Adams caught fire early for China Kashgar, dropping 21 of his 23 points in the first half, to go with his nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals, before Xi Re Li Jiang picked up the slack in the third quarter, unfurling eight of his 20 markers in the frame as the Chinese ran away from the Filipinos.
Yu Tang Cai added 11 points in the win, as China Kashgar advanced to the semifinals where it meets Kazakh side BC Astana.
Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas faced an uphill battle early as Adams waxed hot and helped China Kashgar opened the game with a 17-4 start.
Though the Filipinos got their bearings back behind Ravena, who tied the game at 39-all with 2:00 left in the second quarter, they were just outmatched on the other side of the halftime break before Makan Kelanbaike gave the Chinese a commanding 21-point lead, 84-63, with 5:25 to play.
Blatche did not play against his fellow Filipinos as coach Li Qiuping sat him out for the game after playing against Al Riyadi on Tuesday.
The Scores:
CHINA KASHGAR 86 – Adams 23, Xi Re Li Jiang 20, Yu 11, Wang 8, Makan 7, Sun M 6, Li 4, Tang 3, Liu 2, Sun T 2.
CHOOKS-TO-GO PILIPINAS 70 – Austin 16, Ravena 16, Cruz 10, Manuel 10, Jose 5, Torres 5, Jero. Teng 4, Tamsi 2, Vosotros 2, Revilla 0, Jeri. Teng 0.
Quarters: 24-17, 45-39, 68-57, 86-70.