Gilas outlasts Japan, duels China for Fiba Asia title; Hontiveros stars
Photo from Fiba.com
The Cebuano Hotshot found the right time to wax hot.
Dondon Hontiveros finally ended his shooting slump and towed Gilas Pilipinas to a tough 81-70 victory over Japan in the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship semifinals Friday in Changsha, China.
Hontiveros sizzled with a scintillating 6-of-9 shooting from threes to finish with 18 points, marking his best game in the tournament.
With the victory, Gilas Pilipinas moves to a win away from the elusive Rio Olympics dream.
However, the mighty China stands in the way as the two clash for the gold medal and the outright qualification to the Olympics Saturday.
Andray Blatche topped Gilas with 22 points and 13 rebounds, as Jayson Castro got 20 markers and seven boards in the win.
Makoto Hiejima topped Japan with 28 points and seven rebounds, as Team Hayabusa clashes with Iran for the bronze medal also on Saturday.
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