FIBA Asia Championships 2015 Final: Gilas Pilipinas vs. China Score, Reaction

China scored a 78-67 victory over the Philippines on Saturday to capture the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship title. The triumph earns the Chinese national team direct qualification into the basketball tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

The interior tandem of Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi caused major trouble for Andray Blatche and the rest of the Philippines' post defenders. The dynamic duo accounted for 27 points and 29 rebounds and went to the free-throw line 18 times for the winning side.

Guo Ailun led all scorers with 19 points for China. Blatche had a team-high 17 for Philippines.

Marisse Panaligan of GMA News noted before the game that Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin understood the challenge China presented due to its size and athleticism. One thing he didn't want his squad to worry about was the opponent's home-court advantage.

"Let them come play in front of Philippine fans, there's the real fans. These are fake fans. They don't know the game of basketball and they just sit up there and cheer when they're told to cheer," Baldwin said. "They don't bother us at all. Noise is noise. What's that got to do with anything? Nothing. We're not interested in that."

His players seemed to heed that message in the early going, as they raced out to a 15-10 lead.

The host nation responded with a 12-0 run as the Philippines fell into an offensive slump in the middle stages of the first quarter. While Gilas have made major strides over the past few months, that's one issue that has persisted throughout the recent series of tournaments.

Between the shooting struggles and several 50-50 calls that went China's way, Spin.ph pointed out the Philippines was fortunate to keep the game close after the first quarter:

China stretched the lead to 11 by halftime. The Dragons continued to attack the post, which created plenty of easy buckets and nearly just as many fouls. They ended up shooting 22 free throws in the first half, double the amount of Gilas Pilipinas.

Filipino volleyball star Gretchen Ho generated a lot of buzz on social media by questioning the game's officiating:

Bob Guerrero of Rappler didn't think the calls were the only reason China led, though:

Even as the Philippines' defensive effort improved in the third quarter, the offense struggled mightily to find a rhythm. So while Gilas held the Dragons to just 14 points, they could only cut the lead by a single point, sending them into the final period down by 10.

Jaemark Tordecilla of GMA News pointed out how things just weren't falling the Philippines' way:

Gilas Pilipinas couldn't put together a magical comeback in the fourth quarter. China played an effective brand of basketball, used the clock and pulled away down the stretch to secure the title. It was an impressive showing from start to finish against a gamely opponent.

FIBA spotlighted the result:

Ryan Songalia of Rappler noted it's a familiar feeling for Gilas after falling short against Iran in the tournament final two years ago:

The Philippines may lament the calls it didn't get during the final. Perhaps with some more favorable officiating it had a chance to pull out the win in the fourth quarter. That said, the lack of efficiency on offense also played a key role in the loss.

Now, Gilas Pilipinas will need to try its luck in one of the Olympic qualifying tournaments next July to earn a trip to Brazil. That gives them nine months to continue building off the progress they made during the buildup to the FIBA Asia Championship.

In the end, however, China simply had too much offensive firepower down low and the Philippines never found a way to consistently slow down the aggressive attack. The Dragons deserve credit for executing a smart game plan from head coach Gong Luming.

While the Chinese roster doesn't feature the same level of stardom as basketball powers like the United States and Spain, the team is capable of making some noise at the Olympics next summer. It's certainly a group with an intriguing amount of potential.

Postgame Reaction

Musong R. Castillo of the Inquirer passed along comments from Baldwin after the loss. The coach urged the nation's fans to show support for the players despite the result.

"This group deserves the respect of the country. They may not have won the gold medal, but they are winners as people," Baldwin said. "We just never got into an offensive flow, but we played good defense in the second half. We just didn't shoot well."

Philippines forward Gabe Norwood took to Twitter to quickly shift the focus toward the team's next chance to earn a spot in the Olympics:

It's impossible to doubt Gilas Pilipinas' desire to capture the championship. They fought hard every step of the way to reach the necessary level starting with the Toyota Four Nations Cup in August. Though they came up a bit short in this event, they provided reason for optimism moving forward.