Cubao, Quezon City – Gilas Pilipinas cruised to their fifth straight victory in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) with a 55-point margin, 107-52, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Playing without their naturalized player Andray Blatche, Gilas was led by Matthew Wright with 19 points while sinking five out of his seven attempts from the three-point arc. Calvin Abueva followed up Wright’s attack by chipping in 16 points of his own to go with six rebounds, two steals, and a block while Raymond Almazan played his best game in a Gilas uniform with 16 points and six boards.
Only Thanh Nhan Nguyen went over double-digit scoring for the Vietnam squad and finished with 11 points and two boards. Van Hung Nguyen and Han Minh Trieu each had 9 points for their team.
Blatche skipped this game to rest his mild hamstring strain in preparation to compete with Indonesia on Thursday, May 17, Thursday. The winner of the match-up will clinch a seat in the FIBA Asia Cup this August.
The Scores
Philippines 107 – Wright 19, Abueva 16, Almazan 16, Rosario 12, Jalalon 1o, Malicsi 8, Pogoy 7, William 7, Aguilar 5, Romeo 4, Fajardo 3.
Vietnam 52 – Nguyen T. 11, Nguyen V. 9, Trieu 9, Le N. 8, Tran 7, Le P. 4, Dang 2, Nguyen H. 2, To 0.
Quarter scores: 28-16, 53-29, 89-40, 107-52.
Story by: Ernest Hernandez / Photo by: Peter Baltazar
