Gilas Pilipinas primed itself for the virtual gold medal match against Indonesia after rolling to an 87-44 win over Malaysia Saturday, May 21 in the men’s basketball competitions of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Coach Chot Reyes gave everyone substantial playing time during the blowout affair held at the Tranh Tri Gymnasium that put Gilas one victory shy of bagging a 14th consecutive gold and 19th overall in the regional meet.
With a 5-0 record, Gilas now shifts its focus on the marquee duel with Indonesia slated 3 p.m. local time (4 p.m. Manila time).
Indonesia holds a 4-0 record going into its match against host Vietnam later in the day.
The top team at the conclusion of the single-round schedule will take home the gold.
Thirdy Ravena was the lone Gilas player who scored in double digits with 17 points while adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in almost 23 minutes.
LeBron Lopez and RR Pogoy added nine apiece, the latter grabbing 10 rebounds.
Things were tight for the first five minutes as the lead changed hands five times, before Gilas made 10 in a row to end the first quarter up 19-10.
The Filipino cagers continued their run in the first four minutes with nine straight points that ended on a Ravena basket for 28-10.
Kuek Tian Yuan and Wee Yong Gan made eight points each for Malaysia, which ended its campaign at 2-4.