The Philippine national men’s basketball team moved one win away from sweeping the 2017 SEABA Championship after outclassing Vietnam, 107-52, on Wednesday night at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The 5-0 Gilas Pilipinas just needs a victory over Indonesia, which is also unbeaten in five games, in its final game on Thursday to secure the gold medal and ticket to the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.
Sharpshooter Matthew Wright scored 19 points spiked by five triples to lead all scorers for the squad which rested Andray Blatche for the entire game.
Raymond Almazan and Calvin Abueva both had 16 points and six boards for the Filipinos while Troy Rosario contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.
Jio Jalalon also made 10 points and five assists.
Gilas Pilipinas needed a second half breakaway to stamp its dominance against the Vietnamese. After trailing 5-4 early, the Filipinos scored 14 unanswered points to take the driver’s seat.
But Vietnam prevented Gilas Pilipinas from completely pulling away in the first half, keeping the Filipinos’ lead below 20 points for the majority of the second period.
However, Gilas Pilipinas ended the quarter with a 9-1 run for a 53-29 halftime lead. The hosts continued their onslaught in the third quarter, outscoring their opponents, 36-11, en route to the lopsided victory.
