FIBA: Gilas fall to Japan for first time in 12 years, bow out of Asia Cup For the first time in 12 years, the Akatsuki Five stood over Gilas Pilipinas Men. Japan scored a wire-to-wire win over the Philippines, 102-81, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, Tuesday at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia. The last time Japan defeated the Philippines was back in the 2010 Asian Games via a 60-58 decision. In the continental cup meanwhile, this is Japan’s first victory over the Philippines since the 2003 ABC Championship, winning 66-64. The Philippines also missed the top eight of the Asia Cup for the first time since 2007. “Well, obviously, the result is not what we wanted. Again, we are very sorry that we’ve disappointed a lot of our countrymen, our fellow Filipinos,” said head coach Chot Reyes. “Like I said, we brought a very young team here and the experience is just going to make them better. “To be able to be exposed to that kind of intensity and level of play here in the Asia Cup, there is not one player on our team in the 12 players that have been in the Asia Cup. This is all their first time. So, like I said, we wished to get at least into the top eight but we weren’t able to get the job done,” he continued. Unlike their last two wins over the Philippines, the Akatsuki Five were simply dominant. Behind the trio of Yutaroh Suda, Yudai Nishida, and Yuta Watanabe, Japan raced to a 19-7 lead and never looked back. Suda, Nishida, and Watanabe scored six points each in the opening frame, outscoring the entire Philippine squad, who fell behind 32-16.