HANOI. — Gilas Pilipinas scored another dominant victory on Wednesday, humbling Singapore 88-37 for its third straight win in the cage competition of the 31st Southeast Asian Games at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium.
The Nationals never gave the Singaporeans any chance, opening up with a 15-3 lead, allowing their opponents to score a field goal in the final minute of the first quarter.
Gilas takes on Vietnam on Thursday, before taking a break at the end of a four-day, four-game swing that also saw the squad posting a 76-73 win over Thailand on Monday and a 100-32 victory over Cambodia on Tuesday.
Gilas coach Chot Reyes said the emphasis was on defense after Leon Kwek exploded with 27 points against Vietnam last Tuesday. Kwek was limited to just six points by the pesky Gilas defense.
“We wanted to start with a very good defensive effort kasi when we scouted them, grabe si Kwek. Deadly talaga siya. The game plan for him would be to really make him a focal point and make sure to stop him,” said Reyes.
“I thought we started with a very good defensive effort but our offense left much to be desired. A lot of careless turnovers. When we cleaned it up, I felt the second group was able to do a great job after the initial spate of turnovers,” Reyes added.
Roger Pogoy shot 8-of-17 from the field, while Lebron Lopez had 11 points in the fourth period to help Gilas maintain the huge margin.
Jaydee Tungcab also got minutes and finished with 11 points alongside Matthew Wright. June Mar Fajardo had eight points and 11 rebounds for Gilas.
Earlier, the Philippine women’s squad whipped rival Thailand 97-81 for its second straight win.
Afril Bernardino showed the way with 20 points and 16 rebounds as the
Gilas women’s squad took the lead in the round-robin tournament where the top placer wins the gold.
Four consecutive threes from Fil-Am rookie Stefanie Berberabe, Chack Cabinbin, Janine Pontejos and Gabi Bade, another US-based player making her SEA Games debut, sparked a big charge that turned a 27-25 lead into a 39-27 bubble in the second period.
“I’m just so happy again. They really worked hard and compete dat the start. Sabi ko nga sa inyo, let’s just continue what we are doing. Wala naman tayong dapat baguhin. Sana dere-derecho lang,” said coach Pat Aquino.
Berberabe, a product of Westmont College in the National Association of Inter-collegiate Athletics (NAIA), had 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals while Katrina Guytingco chipped in 10 points. Cabinbin, Clare Castro and Bade each had nine markers.
The Philippines tries to stay unbeaten when it battles Vietnam Thursday at 5 p.m. (6 p.m. Philippine time)
“Lagi nating sinasabi na take one game at a time. We are going to be ready with Vietnam tomorrow. We will prepare harder. I know it’s going to be difficult against the host country. But we will do our very best,” said Aquino.
The Thais, who dominated women’s basketball for decades until they were unseated by Gilas in the 2019 SEA Games, pulled within two points in the second quarter. But that was the closest they got as Gilas stepped on the gas en route to victory.
The scores:
Women’s
Philippines 97 — Bernardino 20, Berberabe 10, Guytingco 10, Bade 9, Cabinbin 9, Castro 9, Castillo 7, Pontejos 7, Tongco 7, Fajardo 6, Surada 3, Clarin 0.
Thailand 81 — Thunchanok 14, Thidaporn 13, Sriharaksa 13, Warunee 12, Juthamas 11, Rattiyakorn 8, Amphawa 5, Rujiwan 2, Pimchosita 2, Penphan 1, Atchara 0, Kanokwan 0.
Quarters: 22-16; 57-40; 80-59; 97-81.
Men’s
Philippines 88 — Pogoy 19, Lopez 18, Tungcab 11, Wright 11, Fajardo 8, T. Ravena 5, K. Ravena 5, Tautuaa 5, Rosario 2, Go 2, Navarro 2, Montalbo 0.
Singapore 37 — Lavin 8, Toh 7, Kwek 6, Low 5, Mah 3, Fokoff 2, Lim 2, Crump 2, Sim 2, Y. Lim 0, Liew 0, Goh 0.
Quarters: 17-7; 43-17; 61-27; 88-37.
