THE Smart-Gilas Pilipinas basketball team pounced on a young Guang Ha squad to register a convincing 99-68 victory on Sunday in the 34th William Jones Cup in Taipei.
The Filipinos encountered little resistance from Chinese Taipei’s Team B in its home court as they led from start to finish in notching their second straight victory in the tournament.
Gilas turned back Jordan, 88-78, on Saturday.
Guang Ha, whose oldest player is only 24, suffered its second straight loss.
“Good effort today. This Taipei-B will be tough in a few yrs. After d game they all lined up in front of me then bowed w a salute. Classy!” Gilas coach Chot Reyes posted in his Twitter account @coachchot.
Garvo Lanete justified his inclusion in the team as the former San Beda Red Lion waxed hot in the second quarter, where the Nationals practically sealed the win by extending a 28-18 first-quarter lead to 53-32 at halftime.
Gabe Norwood’s dunk in the fourth gave Gilas its biggest lead at 87-55 late in the game.
The 23-year-old Lanete, one of the youngest players in the team mostly made up of PBA veterans, finished with 20 markers for the Nationals, who next face South Korea on Tuesday.
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