Sinag escapes tough Singapore squad, Perlas defeats Malaysia

The Philippines' two basketball teams both scored victories in their opening matches as the men's team defeated Singapore 88-75 while the women's team won over Malaysia 65-59 at the Zayar Thiri Indoor Stadium in Naypyitaw.

Sinag Pilipinas did not start their SEA Games campaign on the best note possible as they struggled against a game Singaporean team. The Philippine team composed of amateur stars backed by Marcus Douthit played flat in the first half and endured anxious moments in the fourth quarter before claiming their first victory of their campaign, 88-75.

Mac Belo, the do-it-all forward from Far Eastern University, led Sinag with 16 points and 10 rebounds. His effort was the main reason why the Philippines narrowed the gap in the second quarter. Doutit also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Ferrer added 14 points and seven rebounds, going 3-for-6 from the three point area while Bobby Ray Parks chipped in 10 points including crucial free throws in the fourth quarter.

"We had a bad start. We weren't able to defend their guards and they had a lot of offensive rebounds," admitted Garvo Lanete after the game. "A lot of us were in foul trouble in the first half including myself. Marcus also had three in the first half so it was more difficult for us to play good defense because the referees were calling a lot of fouls on both sides."

"We'll play a better game tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be able to adjust to the calls and play better defense."

Also read: Sinag Pilipinas struggles past Ateneo in final SEAG tune-up

Singapore surprised the Philippines by taking 22-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Sinag finally got their offense going in the second quarter. Mac Belo baskets sandwiched two free throws from Kevin Ferrer to get the Philippines within four points at 24-20.

A coast to coast layup from Roi Sumang knotted the score at 31-all with less than four minutes left in the second quarter for the game’s first deadlock. However, it didn’t last long as the Singaporeans quickly retook the lead in the next possession.

Sumang wrote the last sentence of the first half as he scored on another layup to tie the game at 33-all heading to the break.

Singapore used their quickness to offset Sinag's height in the first half. They also drilled seven triples in the game which prevented the Philippines dominating the game. Guard Wei Long Wong had an inspired performance as he scattered 23 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in 34 minutes on the floor.
 
Free throws from Marcus Douthit gave Sinag their first taste of the lead 35-33. However, the Singaporeans got hot from outside as Wei Long Wong and Hanbin Ng knocked down triples for a 41-39 lead early in the third quarter.

Belo and Parks then clawed Sinag back into the game. A Garvo Lanete fastbreak layup gave them a 46-45 lead. Turnovers from Sinag allowed Singapore to stick around but a basket from Ganuelas and a two triples gave the Philippines a 58-51 lead.Sing held a 64-58 lead heading into the final quarter after a Kiefer Ravena basket.

Singapore stuck with the Philippines in almost all categories. Sinag only had one more assists (16-15) while the two teams had the same number of turnovers (10) and steals (3). The only areas where the Singaporean failed to match up with the Philippines were in rebounding (56-45) and made free throws (29-20).

Sinag rebuilt a seven point lead, 66-59, after Ravena found Ganuelas for an easy layup at the 9:01 mark of the fourth quarter. Free throws from Belo and Ganuelas finally gave Sinag a double digit lead at 69-59 with 7:17 left in the game

The Singaporeans refused to let the game slip as they mounted a run midway through the fourth quarter to cut Sinag’s lead down to five at 70-65 after a triple from Hua Sen Larry Liu.

Ferrer responded with a putback and Ravena added a hang-time fastbreak layup to stretch their lead to a more confortable nine points, 74-65. The Singaporeans managed to stay within striking distance until a Ferrer trey was followed by a Parks free throw to build a 10-point lead for the Philippines at 80-70 with three minutes left in the game.

Sinag-Pilipinas played sans shooter Kevin Alas who was stricken by fever. The former Letran Knight spent the final days of their preparation resting to fully heal his injured foot but it was sickness not an injury that prevented him from suiting up.

Perlas-Pilipinas were also victorious in their first outing as they defeated Malaysia 65-59 at the Zayar Thiri Indoor Stadium in Naypyitaw.

(Men's) Philippines 88: Belo 16, Ferrer 14, Doutit 14, Parks 10,   Ravena 9, Ganuelas 9, Sumang 8, Lanete 6, J. Pascual 2,R. Pascual 0, Alas 0, Cruz 0

(Men's) Singapore 74: Wong 23, Ng 11, Low 9, Wu 9, Oh 7, Lim 7,  Liew 5, Goh 4, Su 0, Tan 0, Hong 0, Khaw 0