After the late quarter nip and tuck battle, the Gilas Pilipinas pulled away with a much late-game composure to past the tough Thailand squad, 81-74, in the 29th Southeast Asian Games’ Men’s basketball tournament at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Gilas Pilipinas team was off to a strong start as they moved the ball around well and knocked down points in all cylinders to gain a much comfortable double-digit lead, 22-12, in the first quarter action of the ball-game.
However, the pesky Thais showcased composure by trading baskets and taking advantage from the lack of defensive rebounding effort of Filipinos.
The Thailand team stringed five straight points by knocking down a triple, followed by a powerplay inside the paint to grab the lead in the last minute of the first half, but the Gilas Pilipinas refused to go down without any answer as they reclaim the lead courtesy of couple baskets at the end of the second canto, 36-34.
Still managing to fight toe-to-toe with the Philippine team, the Thailand squad was able to trade baskets in the third period — clogging the paint in both offensive and defensive end to keep a narrowed cushion, and leaving the Filipinos hanging on to just one-point lead, 60-59, at the end of the third canto.
In the last period of the action-packed game, Thai players were still able to give tough battle to Filipinos but the pumped-up Gilas Pilipinas slightly pull the momentum through Bobby Ray Parks as he forced the Thailand’s best scorer Tyler Lamb to pick up his final foul in the last 4:47 minutes of the ball game.
Thailand, however, refused to give the game’s momentum as they gave a little scare to their counterparts but still, that was not enough as they fell short against the Gilas Pilipinas.
Gilas is now up with 1-0 record in the round robin of the men’s tournament. | Tretch Melarpes – PTV
Box Scores:
Philippines 81Â — Rosario 16, Standhardinger 15, Parks 14, Ravena 11, Tolomia 8, Amer 6, Jose 6, Vosotros 3, Ferrer 2, Pessumal 0, Paras 0
Thailand 74Â — Lamb 17, Samerjai 12, Ananti 11, P. Klahan 10, Jakrawan 9, C. Klahan 5, Apiromvilaichai 4, Kruatiwa 4, Chanthachon 2, Muangboon 0, Ghogar 0, Lakhan 0
Quarterscores:Â 22-12, 36-34, 60-59, 81-74
