Gilas Pilipinas recovered after a shocking loss yesterday as they torched Hong Kong with an impressive 101-50 beating Thursday in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsa, China.
In a victory which brought back the nationals to relentless form, the Philippines shoot 14-for-34 from three-point area in the entire game, while also controlling the rebounding battle 62-38 and shooting better from the field overall at 46.1 percent.
Jayson Castro fueled the national team, firing 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting, making all but one of his six attempts from three-point area.
Andray Blatche contributed 17 points and eight rebounds in only less than 18 minutes of action as he was able to take more rest.
Three other Gilas members finished in double digits in the annihilation which lifted the team to a 1-1 card in Group B. The Philippines will round out its elimination round campaign against Kuwait tomorrow.
Behind solid defense, Gilas was able to pull away early, going on a 20-2 run in the opening quarter as they punished Hong Kong in transition.
Chan then hit a string of eight straight points behind two triples, bringing Hong Kong to within 12-24.
But Blatche and Castro returned to restore order, as Gilas used a 23-7 second quarter to erect a 51-22 halftime bubble.
The onslaught continued in the second half, with Blatche attacking the interior against the diminutive Hong Kong frontline to rack up basket after basket.
Later, back to back triples by Castro made it 75-31 as Gilas’ energy never faded from the get-go to score a huge win. Gilas scored 32 points in the third period, creating more separation.
All but one Gilas member scored, and no one played for more than 23 minutes as Tab Baldwin was able to use a balanced attack this time around.
The Nationals will take on the Kuwait National Team tomorrow at 4:45pm.
The Scores:
Philippines (101) – Castro 21, Blatche 17, Hontiveros 14, Romeo 11, De Ocampo 10, Abueva 8, Ganuelas 7, Intal 5, Thoss 4, Taulava 2, Pingris 2, Norwood 0
Hong Kong (50) – Chan 13, Reid 11, Wong 7, Xu 6, Au Leung 5, Lin 5, Cheng 2, Leung 1, So 0, Lau 0, Lee 0, Szeto 0
Quarters: 28-15, 51-22, 83-38, 101-50.
