MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas averted disaster with a 76-73 escape over Thailand in the men’s basketball competition of the 31st Southeast Asian Games last night in Hanoi, Vietnam.
June Mar Fajardo spearheaded the offense with double-double 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III added 17 markers for the 14-time defending champions.
After a flat start, where the Gilas went down 11-21, the national team went on a strong run in the second quarter behind Fajardo and Ravena to snatch a 38-34 halftime lead.
Gilas continued its run in the second half on inside conversions by Fajardo as the lead reached its largest at 73-63 but Thailand rallied back to cut the deficit to 71-75.
Ravena had a chance to seal the win for Gilas Pilipinas but missed his two free throws which led to an easy layup by Antonio Price as Thailand cut the deficit to 73-75 with seven seconds left.
Kiefer Ravena, for his part, split his free throws for the national men’s basketball team for a 76-73 count. Thailand had a chance to tie it but Nakorn Jaisanuk missed his triple.
Gilas Pilipinas Women, meanwhile, also kicked off its SEA Games women’s basketball gold medal title defense with a 93-77 domination against Indonesia Mera Puti.
Holding to a 10-point edge after three quarters, the Gilas Pilipinas Women kicked off the fourth period with a 7-0 blast capped by a triple by Trina Guytingco for a 79-62 lead.
The Indonesians made its last push to cut the deficit to 81-69 but consecutive baskets by Janine Pontejos followed by another two-pointer from Afril Bernardino widened Philippines’ lead to 93-77.
Bernardino spearheaded the offense for the Gilas Women with 16 points and nine rebounds, Pontejos chipped in 15 markers, while Filipino-American Gabi Bade and Camille Clarin contributed 11 points each./PN
