The Gilas Pilipinas got the better of the Chinese men's national basketball team with a 72-69 victory to finish third place in the recently concluded 2016 Imperial Basketball City Tournament at the Land Rover Arena in Bologna, Italy on Sunday.

Terrence Romeo paced the national men's basketball team of the Philippines with 18 points while shooting 6 of 10 from the field in the four-nation international basketball tournament. Jeff Chan contributed 10 points, and Jayson Castro added nine points for the winners.

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Naturalized-Filipino Andray Blatche, who is currently under contract with the Chinese Basketball Association club Xinjiang Flying Tigers, finished the game with an impressive performance of 14 points and 12 rebounds.

With the scores tied at 34-all at halftime, the Philippines staged a 10-0 run that gave them a double-digit lead 49-39 with less than four minutes left to play in the third period. However, China quickly fought back and stormed the Philippine team with a 12-2 run to tie the game at 51-all entering the final period of the game.

In the last twelve minutes of the game, the Filipinos managed to pour in 20 points while limiting China to just 17-point production to seal the victory.

With the win, the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship runners-up got even with the Asian champions. However, the Rio Olympic Games-bound Chinese national squad did not field in its top player with the likes of former NBA player Yi Jianlian and Houston Rockets second round draft pick Zhou Qi.

The victory will give the Gilas Pilipinas the much-needed confidence as they head back to the Philippines to play host for the upcoming Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

TagsGilas Pilipinas, chinese men's national basketball team, Zhou Qi, Yi Jianlian, andray blatche, Rio Olympics 2016