Misfiring Gilas Pilipinas falls to Egypt in final Doha Cup game

EGYPT’S heft, height, and outside shooting just proved too much for Gilas Pilipinas in an 86-55 loss to end its stint in the 2nd Dubai International Cup early Monday morning. The Pharaohs went on a huge 21-7 tear in the second quarter to pull away for good from a Philippine side that kept things close in the opening frame. Omar Oraby (218-C-1991, college: USC), the 7-foot-2 center of Egypt, hit back-to-back 3s to cap the run that put it in command at the half, 39-28. Ehab Amin (193-G-1995, college: Oregon) shot 4-of-8 from three-point range and finished with 20 points, Amr Alaa Zahran (191-SF-2001), the quick point guard of Egypt, had 12 points on 2-of-4 three-point shooting, while Omar Oraby added 10 on a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc to lead the 38th ranked team in the world to a three-game sweep of the three-day friendly. Justin Brownlee (197-F-1988, college: St.John's) again carried the load for Gilas Pilipinas with 18 points, but no other Filipino player finished in double figures that led to the country’s second straight loss before another jampacked crowd at the Qatar University Sports and Events Complex. Gilas’ lone win came at the expense of Qatar, 74-71, on opening day. The Filipinos tried to mount a second half rally behind Brownlee and Scottie Thompson (188-G-1993), but Egypt was just too good and too composed to let Gilas close in and energize the pro-Filipino crowd that came in droves for the third straight night to support the national team. As expected, the Pharaohs imposed their size inside, pounding the opposition on the boards, 47-32, with center Moustafa Mohammed Elmekawi leading the charge with 10 rebounds, while heavily scoring on points off the paint, 36-18. Egypt also shot 11-of-32 from three-point range and outscored Gilas on points off turnovers, 17-8.
Courtesy of: spin.ph