China obviously had the odds in their favor ever since the 2015 FIBA Asia Championships kicked off at Changsha-Hunan and apparently everything fell into place.
The Chinese nationals capped off their campaign after handing a smaller Philippine team a 78-67 defeat to win the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship. It was China’s 16th title for the said competition.
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NBA veteran Yi Jianlian joined hands with rising new cagers Zhou Qi and Guo Ailun as they bucked a slow start to fend off repeated rallies by the Gilas Pilipinas quintet. Yi ended up with 11 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks for the night and would be later named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Joining Yi in the Mythical Five selection were teammates Guo Ailun and Zhou Qi. The other members were Jayson Castro of the Philippines and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami of Iran.
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With the victory, China qualifies directly for the 2016 Rio Games. The Philippines, along with Iran and Japan, will have another chance to make it to the Rio Games when they take part in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTS).
The match was played before a hostile crowd and made worse by questionable officiating by the referees selected to call the match. But of the three officials, it was the Kazakh referee who time and again made a lot of the questionable calls.
Sans the officiating issues however, it was pretty clear that the Philippine team also had its faults against China. The Filipinos were simply out of rhythm and were visibly intimidated by the fast and taller Chinese big men.
The outside shots simply failed to connect this time for the Philippines, further compounded by missed free throws which could have narrowed the gap as well.
Regardless and considering the problems the squad had faced in forming a formidable team, the second place finish is already considered an over achievement by their countrymen.
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