Despite eligibility concerns and injuries that marred Gilas Pilipinas’ buildup to the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines wasted no time asserting its championship pedigree in the biennial meet.
Defending champions Gilas Men opened their 2025 SEA Games campaign with an emphatic 83-58 victory over Malaysia on Sunday afternoon at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
With familiar faces returning to national team duty — head coach Norman Black, Thirdy Ravena, Ray Parks Jr., and Jamie Malonzo — the Philippines moved to the brink of securing an outright semifinals berth. Gilas improved to a 1-0 record in Group A, while Malaysia dropped to 1-1.
A victory over Vietnam on Monday at 12:30 PM (Philippine time) would officially seal Gilas Men’s place in the crossover semifinals, scheduled for Thursday, December 18, at the same venue.
(C) POC Media
“We have to get better as the tournament goes on. This is actually our first game as a group — when I say first game, first game talaga. Defensively, we played well in the second and fourth quarters. In the first and third quarters, we weren’t that good,” Black said postgame.
“We’ll just work to improve, we’ll watch the tapes, and figure out how we can get better while we are here, and hopefully get a victory against Vietnam in the next game.”
Malaysia held early control, taking a 26-22 lead in the second quarter, before Parks and Ravena sparked a commanding 20-0 run by the Philippines. The surge was capped by an and-one layup from Robert Bolick and a three-pointer by Parks, sending Gilas into halftime with a commanding 42-26 advantage.
The Malaysians trimmed the deficit to as close as 46-39 in the third quarter, but Gilas’ 16-point cushion proved too much to overcome in the payoff period.
A layup by Malonzo, two free throws from last-minute replacement Poy Erram, and a timely three-pointer by Bolick restored a 71-55 lead with 6:35 remaining.
Any hopes of a Malaysia comeback were extinguished with a Malonzo triple, then an Erram free throw. Back-to-back inside baskets by Ravena and Parks stretched the lead to 79-57 with 3:45 left, effectively sealing the win.
“We try to get the chance to grow, but obviously, like I said, this is our first game ever together,” Black added. “We’ll try to learn from this, we’ll try to grow from it, and we’ll try to be a better team as the tournament goes on.”
(C) POC Media
Parks led Gilas with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting, along with six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Bolick matched him with 18 points of his own, adding six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Ravena delivered a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Justin Panopio chipped in seven points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
For Malaysia, Hong Ting Chun paced the squad with 21 points, seven rebounds, and one steal. Meanwhile, Hou Wong Yi added 13 points. Yen Chin Jin posted nine points, four rebounds, and one assist.
Jayson Lee contributed seven points, 10 rebounds, and three steals.
The Scores:
Philippines (83) – Parks 18, Bolick 18, Ravena 13, Panopio 7, Malonzo 7, Erram 6, Wright 5, Chua 4, Pessumal 3, Tratter 2, Manzano 0, Pre 0.
Malaysia (58) – Chun 21, Yi 13, Jin 9, Lee 7, Mahadevan 3, Ong 3, Jing 2, Wee 0, Zi 0, Xian 0, Wong 0, Wee 0.
Quarterscores: 16-22, 42-26, 62-51, 83-58.
