The Philippine national men’s basketball team continued its dominance in the 2017 SEABA Championship, pounding Malaysia, 106-51, for its third straight lopsided victory on Sunday night at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Andray Blatche scored 13 points and eight rebounds to lead six Gilas Pilipinas players who finished with at least 10 points.
Troy Rosario also had 13 markers, while Matthew Wright and Terrence Romeo each had 12 apiece.
Jayson Castro and RR Pogoy each chipped in 10 points apiece as the superior Gilas Pilipinas faced a gutsy opponent in Malaysia.
The Filipinos trailed for the first time in the entire tournament after Malaysia scored the game’s first basket.
But Gilas Pilipinas countered with a 13-0 attack. Despite that, the Filipinos had a sloppy opening period, committing four turnovers in the first few minutes of play–almost half of their nine per game average.
They also gave up two straight open layups at one point as the visitors executed some plays that caught Gilas Pilipinas off-guard.
Malaysia also hit a total of 11 triples, the same number Gilas Pilipinas made in the game.
But Gilas Pilipinas’ sheer talent was just too much for the Malaysians. The hosts’ biggest lead stood at 57 points.
Gilas Pilipinas will take a break on Monday before plunging back to action on Tuesday against Thailand.
