Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

2017 SEABA Championship

Gilas remain as kings of SEABA


There was never any doubt

Gilas Pilipinas, a team stacked with PBA players and reinforced by Andray Blatche, showed that the Philippines is still way ahead from its Southeast Asian counterparts when it comes to basketball, taking a win 97-64 against Indonesia to book its place in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup and the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. The game was held at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum, Thursday night.

“We knew we were going to be tested, and I felt we were ready for it,” said Gilas head coach Chot Reyes regarding the triumph.

This was the Philippines’ eighth Southeast Asian Basketball Association championship. Moreover, they swept the tournament 6-0, while crushing the record for highest points differential by winning with a total margin of 352 points. The previous record-holder was the Philippines’ 342 point differential during the 2015 edition of the tournament.

The veterans showed the way for the Philippines in the title-clinching victory, with Andray Blatche anchoring the attack with 21 points on 58.3 percent shooting along with 10 rebounds. Jayson Castro produced 14 markers, seven caroms, and five dimes.

Slotman June Mar Fajardo collected 13 points on an 83.3 percent shooting clip to go with four boards and two blocks.

The bout was still close with Indonesia trailing by just a field goal, 9-7, early in the opening frame, but that proved to be the only moment they will get close, as Gilas zoomed to a 9-0 run ended by a Castro lay-up to post their first two-digit lead, 18-7, with 4:37 remaining.

From that point, it was all Gilas all through out the match, making it hard for the Indonesians to keep up. The Nationals even led by 32, 72-40, after a booming Terrence Romeo triple from the right wing, with 2:32 remaining in the third chapter.

#ReadMore  REPORTS: Kobe Paras, Ricci Rivero join TNT core for Asian Games

The Filipinos continued to pound on their counterparts even when everything is already decided. A 15-2 offensive surge punctuated by an alley-oop play between Jio Jalalon and Troy Rosario lifted Gilas to its’ biggest advantage, 97-59, with just 1:31 left to play.

“I told them that it was time for this group of Gilas to write their own story. I just reminded the players to play in a way that honors what the previous Gilas teams had started, the kind of culture and tradition that we built,” added the outspoken mentor about the feat.

The Indonesians were led by Indo-American Arki Wisnu with 11 points on six shots, while Mario Wuysang supported him with 10 markers spiked by two treys. Import Jamarr Johnson, who had 17 points yesterday versus Myanmar, only made four markers

Gilas shot 49 percent from the floor, while Indonesia only made 38 percent. They clearly won the rebounding wars, 53-25, and also forced their counterparts to commit 12 turnovers and converted it to 16 points. Furthermore, the Filipino bench added 41 points to their output.

The Philippines will be grouped with Japan, Australia, and Chinese-Taipei in the 2017 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

The Scores:

Philippines (97) – Blatche 21, Castro William 14, Fajardo 13, Wright 9, Rosario 9, Aguilar 6, Jalalon 6, Romeo 6, Pogoy 5, Abueva 5, Malicsi 3, Almazan 0

Indonesia (64) – Wisnu 11, Wuysang 10, Setipu 8, Grahita 8, Pratama 8, Kurniawan 7, Sitorus 4, Johnson 4, Nugroho 2, Dhyaksa 2, Lakudu 0

Quarterscores: 34-14, 51-30, 78-47, 97-64

Written By


You May Also Like

Basketball

San Miguel passed its very first test of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup after completing a come-from-behind victory over the upset-hungry Phoenix, 107-104,...

Basketball

Gilas Pilipinas delivered a dominant performance, routing Hong Kong 93-54 to sweep Window 2 of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers on Sunday night...

Basketball

Gilas Pilipinas has kept the same lineup for its upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifier against New Zealand on Thursday, with Justin Brownlee once...

Basketball

Gilas Pilipinas continue to navigate around manpower woes but the return of Scottie Thompson and June Mar Fajardo is a reason why Coach Tim...

Basketball

San Miguel suffered its second consecutive loss in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) season, falling to P.League+ club Taoyuan, 101-85, in a...

Basketball

Angelo Kouame has rejoined the Gilas Pilipinas pool for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers. The 6-foot-11 Filipino-Ivorian center, who currently plays for...

Basketball

Jayson Castro finally has a PBA Finals Most Valuable Player award that he can call his own after earning as much in TNT’s successful...

Basketball

Jayson Castro has aged like fine wine – and his latest accolade is proof. The 38-year-old TNT legend was named Finals MVP of the...

Advertisement