Philippines' campaign at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya came to a disappointing end on Monday, as Gilas Pilipinas suffered a 105-61 drubbing at the hands of China at Aichi International Arena to lose its chance at defending the gold medal.
Gilas entered the final game of the group stage knowing it could afford a loss of up to 37 points and still advance to the quarterfinals. Instead, the 44-point defeat left Gilas with a -17 point differential, worse than Jordan's -5 and Saudi Arabia's -11, eliminating Philippines from contention as one of the two best third-place teams across the three groups.
Among all the aspects that Gilas struggled for the whole game, here are two main issues that the national team simply had no answers for.
China capitalizing on Gilas' defensive approach
From the opening tip, Gilas' priority against China was clear: take away the size inside and pack the paint, a defensive approach that stemmed from the problems Philippines encountered against Bahrain. The concern was understandable, with China boasting four players listed at 6-foot-9 or taller, including a 7-3 center.
But in trying to protect the paint, Gilas left itself vulnerable on the perimeter -- and China made the Philippines pay for it early.
The Chinese squad torched Gilas from deep in the first half, shooting 8-for-17 from three-point range to create a sizable separation before halftime. Hu Mingxuan led the charge with 13 points on three triples, while Li Yuezhuo added 11 points on three more treys as China consistently punished the Philippines whenever it collapsed inside.
It became a difficult defensive tradeoff for Gilas.
Giving China room to operate around the basket was not an option given the size disadvantage, but Philippines also struggled to recover once its defense collapsed. China moved the ball quickly from the paint to the perimeter, forcing Gilas' defenders into late closeouts and creating clean looks from deep.
That allowed China to stretch the floor and prevent Gilas from setting its defense the way it wanted. Every successful kick-out became another opportunity for the Chinese to attack an unsettled defense, with Philippines unable to consistently contest the initial shot or finish the possession with a defensive rebound.
China still dominated in the interior
Even when Gilas adjusted defensively in the second half, China's size remained a problem that Philippines could not solve.
Philippines went to a zone in an attempt to protect the paint and force China to beat it from the outside despite their hot shooting in the first half, but the change did little to address the Chinese squad's dominance on the glass.
With bigger bodies occupying the middle, China repeatedly created second-chance opportunities and punished Gilas whenever its zone failed to secure the rebound.
The numbers told the story. China owned a commanding 55-35 advantage on the boards, including a 16-9 edge on the offensive glass, allowing the Chinese to extend possessions and continue putting pressure on a Gilas defense that was already struggling to contain its size.
Wang Junjie was at the center of that interior dominance, leading all scorers with 20 points as he consistently found ways to attack the Philippines inside. Hu Jinqiu was just as efficient around the basket, finishing with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field as China continued to generate high-percentage looks in the paint.
For Gilas, the zone was supposed to take away China's biggest strength by crowding the middle. Instead, it often left the Philippines caught between protecting the paint and securing the glass, with China's bigs taking advantage of the extra space and additional possessions.