Gilas Pilipinas Basketball

Gilas Pilipinas pulled away late to decisively beat Indonesia, 76-51 on Friday and remain undefeated in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers third window played in Pampanga, Philippines.

Already qualified for the continental championship in August, the Philippines did not let up and scored another victory using a strong second half where it out-scored its opponent? 46-29.

Dwight Ramos tallied a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. Justine Baltazar and Ange Kouame each topscored with 11 points apiece. Baltazar also had nine boards.

The nationals improved to an unblemished 5-0 in their group and will conclude their campaign against Korea anew on Sunday.

Gilas went on a 15-4 start to break the game open, as RJ Abarrientos had a personal 5-0 run.

But Indonesia kept in step with their 2023 World Cup co-hosts, as lapses and sloppy execution highlighted Gilas’ second quarter.

The Philippines finally gained control, creating separation in the third with a line-up adjustment that put them ahead big, 48-31.

Later, back-to-back triples by Carl Tamayo made it 59-38, before the squad rolled towards the end game.

Abarrientos provided solid bench support again with nine points and six assists. Lester Prosper led the Rajko Toroman-coached Indonesian side with 22 points on nine-of-17 shooting and eight boards.

The game saw the debuts of Jordan Heading, Geo Chiu, and 18-year-old Francis “LeBron” Lopez, who is the youngest men’s seniors team member since Jun Limpot in 1989.

He had eight points and five rebounds in less than 10 minutes of play.

Boxscores:
Philippines (76) – Baltazar 11, Kouame 11, Ramos 10, Abarrientos 9, Lopez 8, Sotto 7, Tamayo 6, Chiu 4, Gomez de Liaño 4, Heading 3, Belangel 3, Go 0.

Indonesia (51) – Prosper 22, Dhyaksa 8, Grahita 8, Goantara 6, Wisnu 4, Kokodiputra 3, Kosasih 0, Hadran Noor 0, Saputra 0, Sitorus 0, Putra Teja 0. Quarterscores: 15-11, 30-22, 51-36, 76-51.

Written by Levi Verora Jr.

Photos from FIBA