Batang Gilas leaned on a huge third quarter onslaught to pull away and win big over Thailand, 70-51 Friday in the 2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Philippines outscored its Southeast Asian neighbors, 28-9 in the third period to build a commanding 58-36 cushion heading into the final quarter.
The nationals never went threatened after that point to seal their second win and top Group C heading into the next round.
With the pull-out of North Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, and Bahrain all advance to the second round where they will face the top three finishers of Group D, which includes reigning titlists China.
The Philippines trailed late in the second quarter, 20-27 before a 10-0 run with four different players scoring gave them a 30-27 edge entering the halftime break.
Jonas Tibayan then scored 6 of his 9 points in a 16-4 Batang Gilas run as they pulled away, 46-31.
Kris Harvey Pagsanjan and SJ Belangel each scored 10 points for the Philippines, which won despite shooting only 38.4 percent from the field and missing all 16 three-point attempts.
Batang Gilas had a 63-42 lead in rebounding and forced 28 turnovers while recording 20 steals in the game.
The Scores:
Philippines (70) – Belangel 10, Pagsanjan 10, Tibayan 9, Gozum 8, Mamyuac 8, Gomez de Liano 7, Ildefonso 6, Credo 4, Publico 4, Flores 2, Escalona 2.
Thailand (51) – Limjittakorn 11, Banchathon 10, Billaemun 8, Sonsem 6, Jaimsawad 5, Phithakpawasutthi 4, Arbu 3, Thikhunrat 2, Intaranam 2, Thanarojwongsa 0, Lertkijroongueang 0, Iadprab 0.
Quarterscores: 14-12, 30-27, 58-36, 70-51.
