Gilas Pilipinas drubbed Malaysia, 94-49, for a strong start to its redemption tour in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball tournament, Tuesday at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The Filipino dribblers erupted for 33 points while holding the opposition to just 12 in the game’s first 10 minutes, and would never take their off the gas pedal as they stamped their class in seizing early Pool A leadership (1-0).
Now, they turn their attention to Thursday’s duel versus the host nation at 6 p.m. Manila time in a much-awaited encounter between the traditional regional powerhouse and a crew filled with naturalized cagers.
All but one scored in the lopsided victory, with Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser leading the way with 15 points that came with five rebounds and a block.
The former Gilas 3×3 stalwart was part of the crew that helped string together the key 11-2 run for a 20-8 lead with under five minutes to go in the opening quarter, and it would be all Philippines from that point on.
Justin Brownlee supplied 11 points, four rebounds, two steals, and a block, while Arvin Tolentino chipped 10 markers and six boards.
Michael Phillips finished with nine points, a game-high 15 rebounds, five steals, and two blocks in the win, where they led by as many as 50 twice in the second half.
Defense was indeed a factor as Gilas racked up 15 steals that mainly caused their foes to commit 26 turnovers, scoring 25 off those.
Wong Yi Hou, meanwhile, was the lone double-digit scorer for Malaysia with 15 points and seven rebounds in the opening day loss.
The Scores:
Philippines (94) – Ganuelas-Rosser 15, Brownlee 11, Tolentino 10, Lassiter 9, Philips 9, Lastimosa 8, Amos 8, Perez 8, Newsome 7, Oftana 5, Standhardinger 4, Ross 0.
Malaysia (49) – Wong 15, Ting 7, Ooi 7, Kuek 6, Chang 4, Heng 3, Lee 3, Mahadevan 2, De 2, Liew 0, Ong 0.
Quarterscores: 33-12, 58-22, 84-38, 94-49.
