HANOI – Gilas Pilipinas is one win away from gold in the 31st Southeast Asian Games, beating Malaysia, 87-44, on Saturday at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium.
Thirdy Ravena led the attack of Gilas Pilipinas in the first half to put the game away for the Nationals, who recorded their fifth win in the men’s basketball competitions of the biennial meet, a round-robin tournament where the team with the best record wins the gold.
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The men’s basketball team now faces the acid test as it faces Indonesia at the close of the basketball competition on Sunday, 3 p.m. (4 p.m. Philippine time) at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium.
Barring any collapse by Indonesia in its clash against Vietnam on Saturday night, the Philippines goes up against Indonesia with both teams sporting unbeaten slates.
Thirdy Ravena and the Philippine team get a big boost ahead of the game against Indonesia.
Ravena had 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
“We really treated this game as preparation for tomorrow’s match against Indonesia,” said Gilas coach Chot Reyes. “Our focus was just to make sure to keep our level high. Unfortunately, we didn’t start off that way. It wasn’t a good start as we wanted.”
RR Pogoy had nine points and 10 rebounds, while Francis ‘LeBron’ Lopez had nine points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks for Gilas.
The scores:
Philippines 87 – T. Ravena 17, Pogoy 9, Lopez 9, Go 8, Montalbo 6, K. Ravena 6, Wright 6, Tungcab 6, Tautuaa 6, Fajardo 5, Rosario 5, Navarro 4.
Malaysia 44 – Jia Run 8, Yong Gan 8, Tian Yuan 8, Yi Hou 6, Zhen Jie 5, Wei Young 4, Zi Fueng 3, Wen Quien Anthony 2, Chung Hong 0, Wei Yong 0, Yoong Jin 0.
Quarterscores: 19-10; 39-22; 68-33; 87-44.
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