PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Gilas Pilipinas cruised to a 94-49 win over Malaysia on Tuesday at the start of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball tournament at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2.
Gilas started its redemption bid by outscoring Malaysia, 33-12, at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser scored 15 points, Justin Brownlee chipped in 11 in limited action as Michael Phillips and his fellow collegiate players got a lot of exposure as Gilas wrapped up the 45-point win.
The win comes as a timely confidence boost for Gilas ahead of a match against a Cambodia team studded with naturalized players on Thursday.
Head coach Chot Reyes emphasized the need to start strong in their bid to reclaim the gold after losing to Indonesia in Hanoi.
Reyes, however, expressed concern over an injury suffered by Calvin Oftana in the game after a slip.
“We challenged the first group to get us off to a good start. It’s really their responsibility to start us off well,” said Reyes.
“Unfortunately, you saw what happened. We have a casualty right away. Calvin Oftana strained a calf muscle that’s why we didn’t play him anymore in the second half,” Reyes said.
A big revelation was Phillips, who was an energy bunny as he had nine points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and had five steals for Gilas Pilipinas.
Phillips provided highlights for Gilas with two breakaway dunks in each of the halves.
Jerom Lastimosa also had a notable outing with eight points, three rebounds, and two assists.
The focus now shifts to the Cambodia team which has six naturalized players including Sayeed Pridget, Brandon Peterson, and Darrin Dorsey.
The scores:
Philippines 94 – Ganuelas-Rosser 15, Brownlee 11, Tolentino 10, Phillips 9, Lassiter 9, Lastimosa 8, Perez 8, Amos 8, Newsome 7, Oftana 5, Standhardinger 4, Ross 0.
Malaysia 49 – Yi 15, Chun 7, Xian 7, Tian 6, Zi 4, Jing 3, Yee 3, Meagan 2, Wee 2, Wen 0, Wei 0, Yong 0.
Quarterscores: 33-12; 58-22; 84-38; 94-49.
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