GILAS Pilipinas put to rest doubts and fears it will falter in its bid to regain the medal that matters most to Filipinos, for now.
Propped up by a vicious start they sustained all the way, the Filipino cagers dumped Malaysia 94-45 yesterday in Group A play of the men’s basketball tournament of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser notched 15 points and five rebounds for Gilas at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2 in Phnom Penh.
Naturalized forward Justin Brownlee chipped in 11 markers and four markers for the Philippine five, while Arvin Tolentino had 10 and six.
The charges of coach Chot Reyes came out with guns blazing and outscored the hapless Malaysians 33-12 in the first quarter, setting the tone for the runaway triumph.
The nationals built a 58-22 spread at the halfway mark and were hardly threatened after enjoying an 84-38 bulge heading into the payoff period.
Gilas will take on Cambodia, parading a slew of naturalized players, this Thursday in a keenly awaited duel, and Singapore two days later.
Group B is made up of defending champion Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos.
