Douthit-less Gilas toys with young Macau team
This one was already in the bag for Smart Gilas Pilipinas 2.0 right from the get-go.
With gunslinger Jeff Chan hitting his stride early, the Filipino cagers went on a rampage and fully dominated hapless Macau in the second half, leading to a lopsided 98-46 victory Monday to prime up for the knockout stage of the FIBA Asia Cup at the Ota Gymnasium in Tokyo Japan.
The Finals MVP of the PBA Governors’ Cup, Chan drilled in 13 of his game-high 18 points in the first period to spark the team’s 14-to-nothing onslaught before the Filipinos completely shut down a Macau side lacking in all elements in the second half, limiting them to a nightmarish 13-second half output.
The win, which came on the heels of their 85-50 victory over lightweight Uzbekistan on Sunday, extended the Filipinos’ win surge to three while likely gaining the second spot in Group A going to the crossover, knockout quarterfinals against the third-placer in Group B–either Qatar or Chinese-Taipei–on Thursday.
Seldom-used JayR Reyes made the most of his 21-minute stint with 12 points–the same output of Gary David–on top of nine boards while Fil-Am Matthew Ganuelas-Rosser and Jared Dillinger added 11 apiece for the PH side of coach Chot Reyes, who opted not to field naturalized import Marcus Douthit.
Guard Lao Fu In tallied 14 points while Cheong Tong Fai contributed 12 but those proved way short to give Macau a fighting chance as they absorbed their third straight beating.
Pitted against favored China on Tuesday, Macau has virtually kissed its hopes goodbye.
Holding a 55-33 lead after the first half, the Filipinos, who didn’t even go into their dug-out at the break, cranked up their defensive pressure that anchored their scorching 26-6 tear capped an LA Tenorio bucket for a whopping 81-39 bubble.
With the result already beyond doubt, the Filipinos turned the fourth into a scrimmage-like outing, going for highlight reels including a two-handed jam by Gabe Norwood off an alley-oop feed by Tenorio for a 95-46 cushion.
Lebanon will likely book top spot in Group A after registering an 89-69 demolition of China, a result that will give the Lebanese a +10 quotient in the event of a three-way tie for first.
Gilas boxscores:
Chan 18, David 12, Reyes 12, Ganuelas 11, Dillinger 11, Norwood 9, Tenorio 7, Thoss 6, Fonacier 6, De Ocampo 4, Villanueva 2.
