#FIBAWC: Gilas' woes continue as Tunisia shot down their Olympic hopes

The Philippines continued to slide down in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, as Tunisia dealt them another African beating with an 86-67 rout to open their classification round games Friday evening in Beijing, China.

Taking cue from their rivals from Angola, the sub-Saharan country unleashed their fury against the hapless Gilas, sending them further to the oblivion in Group N, with their quick start that gave them their second win in the tournament.

Gilas stumbled to their fourth straight defeat, which was already breached by the Tunisians after just three quarters, and were even down by as much as 28 as they are on the cusp of getting the wooden spoon with Iran coming up on Sunday for their final game.

Point guard Omar Abada, who plays in the French league, lead the Carthage Eagles with 16 points in just 18 minutes of action for coach Mario Palma, with backcourt partner Michael Roll adding 13 and former Dallas Mavericks slotman Salah Mejri put up a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Andray Blatche had a game-high 24 points and hauled 11 rebounds for a double-double, but he had no other help in double figures as the agony continues for coach Yeng Guiao's campaign in China, in which their direct route to the Tokyo Olympics was shot down following this defeat, when the hosts took it following their win over rivals South Korea in Shenzen.

The scores:

TUNISIA 86 -- Abada 16, Roll 13, Mejri 12, Ben Romdhane 10, Hadidane 10, Mabrouk 8, Mouhli 6, Ghyaza 5, Slimane 3, Knioua 2, Abbassi 1, Chennoufi 0

PHILIPPINES 67 -- Blatche 24, Rosario 8, Barroca 7, Fajardo 6, Perez 6, Bolick 5, Ravena 5, Lee 3, Aguilar 2, Pogoy 1, Norwood 0, Almazan 0

Quarter scores: 27-10, 46-24, 67-39, 86-67

(photo by FIBA)