The Philippines got a much needed long distance sniping boost from Dondon Hontiveros, who scored 21 points and burried three treys in overtime to power the Gilas Pilipinas past the tough Wellington Sains of New Zealand 92-88 on Friday.
With Iran winning a close battle against Chinese Taipe A 69-63, the Philippines now have a slim chance at winning it all in the annual top-level basketball competition. Still, head coach Tab Baldwin stressed his guys are going to fight to the finish with or without the championship at the end of the tournament.
Philippines vs. USA Select-Overatake
The Philippines will enter another testy match with USA Select-Overtake with all his ball handlers recuperating from injuries. Terrence Romeo, who has been the star of the tournament, will likely skip for the second straight game to tend his sprained his ankle. Jason Castro, the Asia's no.1 point guard, will take a breather from competition after an exhausting battle with Kiwis.
With the two guards likely out, Baldwin will lean on the ball handling skills of energy-guy Calvin Abueva and Matt Ganuelas-Roser.
Meanwhile, USA Select-Overtake is gunning for their third straight win after beating Iran and Chinese Taipei-B. All eyes will be on do-it-all forward Calvin Warner, who is one of the top scorers and rebounders in the William Jones Cup tournament.
For the main event, the Wellington Saints tries to bounce back from a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Philippines as they'll vent off their frustrations against Chinese Taipei-A.
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