Robert Bolick presided over the decisive breakaway as Gilas Pilipinas aligned its Asian Games title defense bid on the right track after rolling past Kazakhstan, 109-78, on Saturday night at the Aichi International Arena in Japan.
Scoreless in their 89-85 defeat to Bahrain yesterday, the SEA Games gold medalist rifled in 20 points, 13 of which he made in the second period alone to lead the pullaway that made it a one-sided affair in their favor permanently.
He found his touch and knocked down three triples to power an overwhelming 20-2 assault for a 38-17 lead with 4:57 remaining in the said chapter.
The others then took it from there, ensuring that the reigning champions would score the must-win affair to bolster their bid of returning to the quarterfinals.
But it wasn’t just Bolick who gained their footing after laying big fat eggs against the Bahrainis in their tournament debut, with Sedrick Barefield, Jerrick Ahanmisi, and Brandon Bates finally tallying points in a Philippines uniform.
Ahanmisi himself finished with a game-best 22 points, garnering most of his output during the fourth quarter as he led a closeout so strong that witnessed him and the team end the game with seven made shots from deep,
Five of which came from the San Miguel Beer guard, four of which he made in successive fashion to push their lead to 97-74 with 3:26 left to play.
Ahanmisi hit seven of the team’s 16 triples as they got their flow going from the outside, which should be good news for their rivalry affair versus current Group C leaders China (2-0) on Monday, September 14,at 12 p.m. Manila time.
Barefield had 11 points, while Bates made three points and nine rebounds as they helped out in Gilas’ 11-0 start into the ball game to set the tone early.
Calvin Oftana, who starred against the Bahrainis with 31 points, finished in double figures once more with 12 points for the Filipino dribblers.
