Gilas Pilipinas Boys took control in the second quarter and never looked back, cruising to a dominant 75-48 win over Indonesia to kick off their FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship campaign on a strong note Monday evening (Manila time) at Arena Complex in Amman, Jordan.
Holding a slim 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, Cabs Cabonillas, the rising star from Far Eastern University-Diliman, took charge, scoring 11 of his 19 points in the second quarter alone.
The 6-foot-4 forward from Davao City also anchored the Gilas defense during that period, holding Indonesia to just two points and helping the team secure a commanding 38-16 lead at halftime.
Indonesia’s only basket in the quarter was a jumper by I Ketut Gede Bayu Putra with 6:19 remaining on the clock.
From there, it was all Gilas, with the team extending its lead to as much as 36 points during the game.
(C) FIBA.basketball
Cabonillas also grabbed eight rebounds and was supported by UE’s Drei Lorenzo, who added 12 points and four rebounds, and Adamson’s Earl Medina, who contributed 11 points.
Overall, Gilas converted 13 three-pointers in the game, with Lorenzo hitting four of them.
Days prior to the tournament, Gilas lost Andy Gemao due to a hand injury and was replaced by Kurt Velasquez.
The Philippines faces a tough challenge on Wednesday as it takes on host Jordan at 12:30 a.m. (Manila time) before closing out its Group D campaign against New Zealand at 9:30 p.m.
The top three teams in each group will advance to the playoffs, with the top seed earning an automatic berth in the quarterfinals.
Halmaheranno Aprianto Lolaru Hady was the only double-digit scorer for Indonesia, finishing with 12 points.
The Scores:
Philippines 75 – Cabonilas 19, Lorenzo 12, Medina 11, Esperanza 8, Burgos 6, Ludovice 5, Esteban 5, Manding 4, Figueroa 3, Santos 2, Perez 0, Velasquez 0.
Indonesia 48 – Hady 12, Putra 6, Alex 6, Yudha 5, Putera 5, Linardi 4, Sundinata 4, Boentara 3, Kristanto 2, Auliarizal 1, Krinanjaya 0, Artionang 0.
Quarterscores: 15-14, 38-16, 63-29, 75-48.
