KUALA LUMPUR - Gilas Pilipinas completed a sweep of its preliminary matches on Wednesday night by beating host Malaysia, 98-66, before a packed crowd at the MABA Stadium.
Fil-German Christian Standhardinger scored 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead the cadets, who topped Group A with 3-0 (win-loss) record and will now face the second placer of Group B, which could be either Vietnam or Singapore, in the semifinals on Friday.
Except for the first quarter and a few minutes in the second, the game was never close as Gilas quickly stepped on the gas and avoided a close call similar to the opening 81-74 win over Thailand.
From there, the only real excitement in the game came in the third quarter when Kevin Ferrer and Kuek Tian Yuan got entangled in one play, sparking a commotion.
Curiously, Gilas players Carl Bryan Cruz and Baser Amer were sent off by the referees when several replays showed the two did nothing to merit an ejection.
That only lit a fire in Gilas' belly as the cadets went on a run to create separation before a big crowd that included hundreds of Filipino migrants.
Kobe Paras had 16 points and eight rebounds while bringing energy to the Gilas squad with his high-wire act. Kiefer Ravena and Troy Rosario each had 12 points.
The scores:
Philippines (98) - Standhardinger 18, Paras 16, Ravena 12, Rosario 12, Amer 10, Vosotros 6, Ferrer 6, Tolomia 5, Jose 4, Pessumal 4, Cruz 3, Parks 2.
Malaysia (66) - Kuek 14, Ting 10, Teo 9, Wong 8, Chee 7, Yeo 7, Loh 5, Lim 4, Ma 2, Wong 0, Soo 0.
Quarterscores: 18-20, 47-35, 73-46, 98-66.
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