Gilas Pilipinas Boys notched their second consecutive dominant victory in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 SEABA Qualifiers, overwhelming Thailand with a lopsided 87-42 win, Sunday at the Bren Z. Guiao Sports Complex in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Coming off a 113-62 rout of Vietnam, the Philippines opened the game with a blistering 30-0 run that left the young Thais stunned and struggling to respond.
During that early surge, Everaigne Cruz led the way with six points, while Prince Cariño added five. Ethan Tan-Chi, Andwele Cabanero, and Gab Delos Reyes contributed four points each in the run.
Gilas shot an efficient 51 percent from the field during the opening blitz, hauled down 23 rebounds, and forced nine turnovers that they quickly converted into 12 points.
Thailand finally got on the scoreboard with 9.2 seconds left in the first quarter as Alexander David split his free throws. Kittipat Pearach then hit Thailand’s first field goal — a three-pointer — at the 8:28 mark of the second quarter.
The Filipinos continued to pour it on, extending their lead to as many as 45 points late in the game, dropping Thailand to its first defeat.
FEU-Diliman standout Prince Cariño led four double-digit scorers for Gilas with 15 points and seven rebounds.
UAAP Season 87 Juniors Finals MVP Gab Delos Reyes of UE tallied 16 points and nine rebounds.
Cruz finished with 12 points, while UST’s Cabanero chipped in 10 points, four rebounds, and three steals.
Thailand played without their starting guard Ronnie Allsopp and big man Apirach Boonsrang, which hampered their already uphill battle.
Meanwhile, Indonesia also improved to 2-0 after defeating archrival Malaysia, 67-45. Benjamin Hernusi paced PERBASI with 19 points, while Kenzie Sutanto added 11. Steven Sebastian dominated the glass with 16 rebounds to go along with six points.
Malaysia was led by Mikel Daniel, who posted 15 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Elsewhere, Vietnam bounced back from its opening-day defeat to Gilas by escaping Singapore with an 89-83 victory to even its record at 1-1.
Five players scored in double figures for Vietnam, led by Hoang Minh Khang Nguyen’s 21 points on five three-pointers. Huu Anh Khoi Phan recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 assists. Khoa Aidan Vo (14 points), Huynh Quoc Bao Nguyen (12 points, 8 rebounds), and Minh Anh Nguyen (11 points) also stepped up in the win.
Singapore dropped to 0-2, joining Malaysia at the bottom of the standings. Samuel Yang paced Singapore with 20 points in the close loss.
Gilas Pilipinas Boys will look to continue their winning streak when they face Singapore on Monday before taking a break on Tuesday.
