GILAS Pilipinas leaned on bigs Kai Sotto and June Mar Fajardo to grab a 45-35 lead over Hong Kong at halftime in their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifier at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday night.
Sotto and Fajardo each had 10 points, most of it scored from inside the paint, as Gilas made full use of its height advantage to take a modest lead halfway through its final game of the year.
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Sotto already had a double-double in the first half as he pulled down 10 rebounds, while Fajardo hauled five in the first 20 minutes of the match.
After a close game in the first few minutes, Gilas was able to increase the gap until the break also with the help of Carl Tamayo and Chris Newsome.
The first half also saw Kevin Quiambao seeing action long minutes and Mason Amos playing for the first time in this current iteration of Gilas under coach Tim Cone.
Quiambao, the reigning UAAP MVP, scored two points on a tip-in, one of the four rebounds he registered playing for the first time after being a DNP for the game against New Zealand.
Amos, who is redshirting in the UAAP after transferring from Ateneo to La Salle, grabbed two rebounds but missed all of his four attempts, three from three-point distance, in the first half.
Justin Brownlee had modest production in the first half, scoring five points on 15 minutes of play as he let the locals run the show.
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