Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
PHNOM PENH – Gilas Pilipinas trounced Singapore 105-45 on Saturday and clinched a semifinals berth in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games basketball tournament at the Morodok Techo Elephant Hall 2.
Marcio Lassiter had 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from threes as Gilas ended the elimination round with a 2-1 win-loss record in Group A while bouncing back from a 68-79 defeat to Cambodia last Thursday.
CJ Perez had 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Justin Brownlee had 12 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and two steals in the 60-point win.
Gilas will next face the top team in Group B that will be either Indonesia or Thailand. Both teams sport 2-0 win-loss records ahead of their game on Sunday at the Elephant Hall 2.
“This is basically our final practice for the semifinal game,” said national coach Chot Reyes. “We can’t really go hard in practice. This was our preparatory practice. We wanted to already hurdle some of the things that we might need against whoever our opponent is.”
The Nationals jumped to a 29-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led by as many as 63 points.
In the women’s side, the Philippines defeated Vietnam 116-58 to pick up its third win in four outings.
Khate Castillo had 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from threes as Gilas outscored Vietnam 33-9 in the second period.
The win strengthened the bid of Gilas Women for a podium finish after their 68-89 defeat at the hands of Indonesia last Friday.
Gilas is in third with a 3-1 win-loss record, two games ahead of Vietnam and Thailand, their opponent Sunday.
*****
Credit belongs to : www.manilastandard.net
