Gilas Pilipinas vs. Japan: Score, Reaction from 2015 FIBA Asia Championships

For the second time at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, Gilas Pilipinas defeated Japan, this time advancing to the final with an 81-70 victory Friday.   

The Gilas stars shined in the semifinal, with Andray Blatche (22 points, 13 rebounds) and Jayson William (20 points, seven assists) leading the way. Dondon Hontiveros also chipped in with 18 points.  

Makoto Hiejima (28 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals) and Joji Takeuchi (18 points, 16 rebounds) had monster games for Japan, but the pair wasn't enough to will Japan to victory. 

"Very smart team, very tough team," Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin said of Japan, per GMANetwork.com "We were very fortunate."

Gilas were excellent on the perimeter, hitting 12 three-pointers (41.9 percent from beyond the arc) and dishing 13 assists as a team. Japan did its best work down low and at the charity stripe, meanwhile, scoring 34 points in the paint and 24 points from the free-throw line (82.8 percent).

Gilas pulled away in the fourth quarter. The two teams were tied at 54 apiece heading into the final frame, but Gilas turned on the afterburners, outscoring the Japanese, 27-16.

"It really just came down to our guys making a few plays in the last minute and a half," Baldwin noted.

Awaiting Gilas in the final will be China, which defeated the talented Iranians on Friday. The winner will automatically qualify for the 2016 Rio Games. While reaching the Olympics is simply expected for China, it would be a pretty big deal for Gilas, per Nick Zaccardi of NBC OlympicTalk:

Baldwin thinks his team will be up for the challenge.

"We're going into tomorrow's game playing for the gold," he said. "They'll believe that they can do that. After that game tomorrow, China will know that they've faced a tough team."

China is a tall task, both literally and figuratively. The team has a lot of length and is very good down low, and it is also undefeated at this year's FIBA Asia tournament. But Gilas has plenty of star power of their own and boast the best player in the tournament in Blatche. There isn't much to separate the two teams, setting up what should be a fantastic final.