The Gilas Pilipinas Men’s national basketball team asserted its might over Thailand for a masterful 115-81 victory in the gold medal match of the 30th Southeast Asian Games Philippines 2019 basketball tournament Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.
As has been the trend, the Philippines once again flipped the switch in the third quarter with a 40-15 rampage that pushed their lead to an unreachable level.
The Gilas Pilipinas Men national team used a scorching third quarter rally to weather Indonesia, 97-70 in the basketball semi-finals of the 30th Southeast Asian Games Philippines 2019 on Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.
The Philippines outscored the Rajko Toroman-coached Indonesia, 39-17 in the third quarter, hitting seven long-range shots that broke the game wide-open.
The Gilas Pilipinas Men national team way laid Myanmar, 136-67 in their final game of the 30th Southeast Asian Games Philippines 2019 basketball elimination round on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila for a spotless record entering the semi-finals.
Matthew Wright went scorching hot from three-point area, drilling 8-of-16 en route to a game-high 29 points for the Philippines.
Gilas Pilipinas will participate in the 2019 SEA Games in Manila this December and will be coached by Tim Cone. 6 players from Barangay Ginebra San Miguel were included in the Gilas Pilipinas player pool.
Gilas Pilipinas Player Pool for 2019 SEA Games
-Japeth Aguilar
-Jayson Castro
-Art Dela Cruz
-June Mar Fajardo
-Marcio Lassiter
-Vic Manuel
11 players from the Gilas Pilipinas player pool are on their way to Spain to play in a pocket tournament and a couple of tune-up games in preparation for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China later this month.
Gilas Pilipinas stayed close against Australia in the 1st half but the Boomers dominated the 2nd half to stay undefeated in the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. June Mar Fajardo led Gilas with 15 points while Cam Gliddon led Australia with 16 points.
Gilas Pilipinas Coach Chot Reyes announced the 14 Gilas players that will fly to Australia tonight, February 19 for the match-up against Australia in Melbourne on February 22 for the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Gilas Pilipinas Player Pool vs Australia
-Jason Castro
-Kiefer Ravena
Gilas Pilipinas, in the confines and comforts of home, took a while to get going, and they needed a certain four-time PBA MVP to finally find their bearings.
With the nationals struggling early, June Mar Fajardo came off the bench and gave the team a much-needed boost, scoring often against an overmatched Chinese-Taipei frontline. The gentle giant from Cebu led the team back from an early 14-point deficit, scoring 9 points and sending counterpart Quincy Davis to the bench due to foul trouble.
Gilas Pilipinas defeated Chinese-Taipei, 90-83 led by Jayson Castro with 20 points and June Mar Fajardo with 17 points in their 2nd game of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.