MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) — The Philippine national team continued its preparations for the FIBA World Cup by hacking out a 92-83 triumph over visiting Adelaide 36ers in a tune-up game, Friday at the Meralco Gym.

The Philippines pulled away in the final four minutes, with a pair of three-pointers by Roger Pogoy anchoring their 12-2 run to finish the game. A huge dunk by Japeth Aguilar with 35 seconds to go highlighted the victory for Gilas.

Andray Blatche led the way for the Philippines with a near triple-double of 19 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists, while Aguilar added 17 points. CJ Perez added 12 points.

"The 36ers gave us a really good game. I felt that it was exactly what we needed. 'Yun 'yung talagang kailangan natin. Rugged, physical, playing against bigger guys," said coach Yeng Guiao after the game.

The Filipinos led early, taking a 25-16 lead before their turnovers allowed the 36ers to catch up. It was a back-and-forth game in the third and early in the fourth period, as Gilas repeatedly ran out to slim leads only for the visiting Australians to catch up.

The home team was up, 80-72, with 7:38 left off an Aguilar jumper when the 36ers responded with 9 unanswered points. Brendan Teys scored in transition to give the visitors the lead, 81-80, with 5:15 left.

It turned out to be the last meaningful bucket that they would score. Pogoy took the lead back for Gilas with a three-pointer with 3:32 to go, then converted a lay-up off an assist by Blatche. Perez then blew by his defender for a lay-up, putting Gilas up 87-81.

A timeout could not cool down the Filipinos, as Pogoy nailed the dagger three-pointer with 1:54 to go. The 36ers would finally break the silence off a basket by Eric Griffin, but in the very next possession, Aguilar threw down a slam dunk that brought the Gilas bench to their feet.

The Gilas veteran sustained a bloody mouth in the process, as he was hit by a defender in the same play.

Ramone Moore led the 36ers with 16 points. Harry Froling added 11 markers.

"This gave us a glimpse of what we will face, and it's going to give us time to make some adjustments," Guiao said of the game.

Gilas shot 55% from the field, including 10-of-24 from beyond the arc. The 36ers ade 46.5% of their own shots, but were only 6-of-22 from long distance.

The two teams play again on Sunday at the same venue.

The scores:

GILAS PILIPINAS 92 -- Blatche 19, Aguilar 17, Perez 12, Pogoy 10, Lee 10, Bolick 8, Almazan 7, Barroca 5, Fajardo 0, Norwood 0, Belga 0, Rosario 0.

ADELAIDE 36ers -- Moore 16, Froling 11, Teys 10, Dillon 10, Taylor 9, Griffin 9, Kyei 8, Johnson 6, McVeigh 4, White 0, Harris 0, Drmic 0.

Quarter-scoring: 25-16, 50-49, 73-68, 92-83.

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