MANILA – The Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team cruised to a dominant 93-54 victory over Hong Kong in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifier last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Carl Tamayo spearheaded the offense with 16 points, including two three-point conversions, to go with five rebounds and one assist as Gilas Pilipinas improved to a 4-0 record in Pool B standings.
“Credit kay (Gilas Pilipinas) coach Tim (Cone) for pushing me always to give my best, to be more mature, more relaxed sa game, and ‘yung ang ipinakita ko,” Tamayo said in a post-game interview.
June Mar Fajardo and Justin Brownlee added 14 and 13 markers, respectively; Kai Sotto posted a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds; and Jaymar Perez ended with 10 markers for Team Philippines.
“For me, just want go hard and play hard, we just want to respect our opponent and the game of basketball,” Sotto said. “We had a slow start in first half, picked up in the second half, and we are happy that we won.”
Down 9-10 early in the opening quarter, Gilas Pilipinas zoomed to a 22-10 advantage behind inside conversions from Fajardo, Sotto, and Brownlee, but Hong Kong responded with three-pointers to close the gap at 25-16.
Hong Kong went on with their outside shooting to start the second frame to cut the deficit to 22-25, but Gilas Pilipinas regained its offense behind Fajardo and Sotto for a 45-35 halftime lead.
Gilas Pilipinas created separation in the third period with Brownlee, Fajardo, and Earl Scottie Thompson anchoring the offense as the lead grew to 67-43 entering in the final quarter.
The national men’s basketball team widened the advantage further come the fourth quarter with conversions from Perez, Tamayo, Chris Newsome, and Kevin Quiambao to complete a lopsided win.
Shiu Wah Leung top-scored for Hong Kong with 11 points, while Oliver Xu added 10 markers as they suffered their fourth defeat in as many games./PN
BOX SCORE:
PHILIPPINES 93 – Tamayo 16, Fajardo 14, Brownlee 13, Sotto 12, Perez 10, Newsome 9, Thompson 8, Quiambao 8, Amos 3, Oftana 0, Aguilar 0.
HONG KONG 54 – S. Leung 11, Xu 10, Yang 9, Tsai 8, Reid 6, Yip 4, Pok 3, K. Leung 3, Yeung 0, Hon 0, Ng 0, Tang 0.
Quarterscores: 25-16, 45-35, 67-43, 93-54.
