In a tune-up game held in Tallinn, Estonia, Gilas Pilipinas experienced their second loss in preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup, falling 89-85 to Finland.
Throughout the game, the Philippine team struggled to gain the upper hand and found themselves trailing by as many as 18 points early on.
However, they displayed resilience by staging a comeback and tying the contest at 31 in the second quarter.
Finland responded strongly, ending the period with a 20-11 run and maintaining their lead over the Philippines until the final buzzer.
Miro Little played a crucial role for Finland, scoring 15 points, including a lay-up with 23.3 seconds left, which extended their lead to 87-79. Despite a late rally by the Philippines, Little's basket proved decisive.
This defeat comes just one day after Gilas Pilipinas lost to Estonia with a score of 81-71.
Dwight Ramos led Gilas Pilipinas in scoring with 15 points, while Justin Brownlee contributed 11 points after missing a portion of the previous game against Estonia due to cramps.
Scottie Thompson, who was absent in the Estonia match due to back spasms, added 10 points, including a late three-pointer that settled the final score.
Once again, three-point shooting was a struggle for Gilas Pilipinas, as they made only five of their 14 attempts, in contrast to Finland's 13 successful shots from beyond the arc.
Reyes still delighted with the result
Meanwhile, after the defeat against Estonia's U21 team, coach Chot Reyes expressed his satisfaction with the team's performance.
"I was very happy with our effort, very happy with the game. It's obvious that we're still far from being in any competitive game shape," Reyes said in an interview with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
Reyes emphasized the importance of peaking at the right time and not burning out too early. He praised the team's effort and expressed his happiness with their progress.
"But we are not supposed to be in game shape yet at this point because we have to make sure that we peak at the right time. We don't want to peak too early and burn out in the end. So that's all part of the process, and I'm very happy," he added,
Reyes highlighted the improved assist-turnover ratio as a positive sign and acknowledged better shooting from two-point and three-point ranges.
"Definite metrics coming into this game. No. 1 was to cut down our turnovers. We had 23 yesterday and we wanted to cut that down and today we were able to cut it down by eight," the coach pointed out.
