Shaky start

Games today:

(Aichi International Arena)

9 a.m. — Chinese Taipei vs Iran

12 p.m. — Qatar vs Jordan

3 p.m. — Bahrain vs China

6 p.m. — Kazakhstan vs Philippines

Gilas Pilipinas’ drive for a repeat gold medal hit a snag right on the first day.

Bahrain was lights-out from the three-point area and barely missed on their field goal attempts to down the reigning champion Gilas, 85-89, in Group C action of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men’s basketball competition on Friday at the Aichi International Arena.

The Bahrainis, parading multiple naturalized players, mounted a furious third-quarter storm to pull away from the all-local Gilas by as many as 16.

Bahrain’s third-period separation was enough to cushion the Filipinos’ desperate comeback attempt in the final canto that came a little too late.

Late addition Calvin Oftana exploded for 31 points, but all his offensive effort came to naught as Gilas slipped into a dangerous spot of missing out on the two outright quarterfinal seats at stake.

Oftana, who arrived in Japan on Wednesday to replace injured naturalized player Justin Brownlee, shot 11-of-19 from the field and helped Gilas recover from an early first half deficit.

Already playing without a reinforcement, the Filipinos could go a man down when they try to bounce back today against Kazakhstan at 6 p.m., after guard Adrin Nocum suffered a right ankle sprain in the closing minutes of the match.

The Rain or Shine star limped off the court and was assisted by teammates back to the bench with a twisted ankle after stepping on the foot of Jakarr Sampson following a layup with 1:51 remaining and Gilas down by nine, 80-89.

Nocum, whose extent of injury has yet to be revealed as of press time, had 14 markers, seven rebounds and five assists for Gilas.

Justine Baltazar had 10 points and six boards, Don Trollano got nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals while Justin Arana scored eight for Gilas.

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) scorers Robert Bolick and Sedrick Barefield went scoreless after missing all five of their field goal attempts for Gilas.

Gilas made a desperate uprising after Nocum went down as Baltazar scored on a fastbreak basket followed by Trollano’s triple to cut Gilas’ deficit to 85-89 with 11.2 ticks left.

Bahrain drained precious seconds from the clock after Gilas took time to foul. Ahmed Haji missed both his foul shots with 3.8 seconds left but Bahrain’s margin was enough for the escape.

It was a sweet victory for Bahrain as it not only joined powerhouse China on top of the standings but also avenged its rout to Gilas in the group stage of the pandemic-delayed Hangzhou edition three years ago.

Bahrain shot 53 percent from the field on a 33-of-62 shooting clip and went 12-of-28 from the three-point area.

The Bahrainis came out of halftime with guns blazing and built a 64-48 lead with 5:32 left off an Ali Alhaddad basket. Bahrain outscored Gilas in the third canto, 27-18.

Gilas rallied from 10 points down in the second quarter and took a 43-41 lead after a Baltazar fastbreak basket with 1:28 left. Bahrain quickly doused cold water on the Philippines’ run with back-to-back triples to build a 47-41 advantage entering the half.

Sampson led Bahrain with a near triple-double of 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Elijah Thomas, another naturalized Bahraini, had 20 points, four rebounds and three assists while Mustafa Rashed also had 20 points.

Bahrain battles China, which routed the Kazakhs, 99-61, for the solo lead also on Saturday.