Gilas Pilipinas narrowly avoided a collapse and withstood a stretch of questionable officiating to edge Indonesia, 71-68, on Thursday at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, securing a spot in the gold medal match of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
A fadeaway by Thirdy Ravena gave the Philippines a 70-54 lead with 3:56 remaining, but Indonesia mounted a furious comeback, scoring 14 unanswered points — capped by a Derrick Xzavierro layup and two clutch free throws from Abraham Grahita — to cut the lead to 70-68 with just 22.1 seconds left.
In the final moments, Indonesia seemed poised to tie the game, but Dame Diagne’s costly turnover and a split free throw by Robert Bolick allowed Gilas to hold on for a slim 71-68 lead with 7.3 seconds remaining.
Thanks to the suffocating defense of Jamie Malonzo and Cedrick Manzano, Grahita had to pass out of his shot attempt, and Xzavierro failed to get a shot off before the buzzer, leaving Indonesia’s comeback effort unfulfilled.
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“A win is a win, we’re happy with it. We get a chance to move on to the Finals,” Philippines head coach Norman Black said.
“I thought we got our defense going in the first half. Towards the end of the first half, we started playing better defense and started making shots at the same time. We can’t predict how these games are going to go, and we gotta also give credit to the other team. They’re playing an opponent. They didn’t give up [and] they kept fighting,” he added.
Despite the nail-biting finish, the Philippines extended its unmatched SEA Games streak to 23 straight top-two finishes, including 19 championships and three silver medals, a run dating back to the 1977 Games.
Gilas earned an outright semifinal berth with a flawless 2-0 record in Group B, while Indonesia advanced after a 23-point demolition of Vietnam in the quarterfinals to complete the top-four lineup.
Ravena led the Philippines with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, along with six rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Malonzo contributed 13 points, three rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Bobby Ray Parks Jr. finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and one block, while Bolick added 10 points and six assists in the winning effort.
Standing between the Philippines and a record-extending 23rd SEA Games title is either host nation Thailand or Malaysia, who clash in the other semifinal at 8 p.m. (Philippine time). The winner-take-all championship will tip off tomorrow, December 19, at the same venue.
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Indonesia will aim to salvage a bronze medal when it faces the loser of the Thailand-Malaysia semifinal in the third-place match, also scheduled for tomorrow in Bangkok.
Xzavierro poured in 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting in the first quarter alone but was limited to just five points in the remaining three quarters, finishing with 22 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks, and one steal. Grahita tallied 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Diagne also had 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
The Scores:
Philippines (71) – Ravena 16, Malonzo 13, Parks 12, Bolick 10, Erram 9, Wright 5, Manzano 4, Panopio 2, Tratter 0, Pessumal 0.
Indonesia (68) – Xzavierro 22, Grahita 13, Diagne 13, Goantara 8, Saputera 6, Dhyaksa 4, Yonga 2, Chalias 0.
Quarterscores: 15-27, 33-34, 54-46, 71-68.
