Gilas Pilipinas’ Kiefer Ravena drives and draws Chinese Taipei’s Quincy Davis’ fifth foul. Davis fouled out with still 1:59 remaining in the game. Photo by Sherwin Vardeleon/INQUIRER
Chinese Taipei center Quincy Davis III said that one of the keys to Gilas Pilipinas win over the Taiwanese was the performance of its guards.
“The Gilas guard play, the way they attack the basket was very tough for us,” Davis said.
Davis was instrumental in the visitors jumping to an early 17-3 lead that silenced the crowd inside Smart Araneta Coliseum, He poured in 10 points in the opening frame alone.
But Davis got into early foul trouble and he wasn’t as dominating since with Gilas center June Mar Fajardo and guard Jayson Castro playing aggressive throughout the game.
“I got in foul trouble early, just major mistakes that really hurt us. I think my defensive fouls really cost me and the team,” said Davis, who sat on the bench for the majority of the third period after picking up his fourth foul when he tried to spin around Fajardo.
Davis was then whistled for his fifth and final foul while trying to stop a driving Kiefer Ravena with still 1:59 left.
“Towards the end, my last foul was a guard driving to the basket with nobody guarding him,” Davis said after finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds.
It was a sorry defeat for Chinese Taipei, which shot 9-of-24 from downtown.
“Gilas is very strong with their guard play, so we knew this was gonna happen. That’s just something we gotta work at,” said Davis.
Chinese Taipei are now 0-2 after getting blown out by reigning Fiba Asia champion Australia to begin its campaign but Davis said that his team shouldn’t be discouraged and instead, look at its current situation as a reason to get better.
“Gilas played their heart out. But I’m very proud of us because we never did give up. We really kept it close, we gave up some late 3-point shots in the end, but overall, we gotta let this be learning lesson for us, and hopefully, we’ll prepare to get them back when they come to Taipei,” he said.
Taipei gets another crack at the Philippines sometime in June next year.