MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas leaned on a strong second-half rampage to build a 76-51 win over Indonesia in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers last night at the AUF Arena in Clark, Pampanga.
Clinging to a 35-31 lead early in the third period, the national men’s basketball team banked on back-to-back triples from Justine Baltazar and inside hits from Dwight Ramos and Angelo Kouame to secure a 44-31 advantage.
The lead ballooned to 48-31 late in the quarter after a putback by Francis “Lebron” Lopez. Indonesia countered the attack with baskets from Lester Prosper to come to within 36-51 after 30 minutes.
Gilas Pilipinas dropped the hammer in the fourth as back-to-back triples by Carl Tamayo pushed the lead to 21 points. The edge swelled further to 76-51 after a layup by Javier Gomez de Liano.
Baltazar ended the game with 11 points and nine rebounds, Kouame had 11 markers, while Ramos posted a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds as Gilas Pilipinas went up to 5-0 in Group A.
Rhon Jay Abarrientos tallied nine points and six assists, while Lopez – the youngest in the national men’s basketball team roster at 18 – debuted with eight points and five rebounds in nine minutes of action.
Gilas Pilipinas surged to a 13-4 start with Abarrientos drilling five straight points, but the Indonesians relied on Prosper’s inside baskets to scrape the deficit to 17-18 in the second period.
The Thomas Baldwin-mentored Gilas continued to miss from close range in the second period but managed to keep themselves afloat at 23-18 on conversions by Ramos and Kouame.
The national squad lead by 10 points at 30-20 following hits from Kouame and Gilas debutant Geo Chiu. The Indonesians rallied to seize the advantage before having their last hurrah at 31-35.
Prosper, who played as reinforcement for the Terrafirma Dyip in the PBA before, finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for Indonesia, which is handled by former Gilas Pilipinas head coach Rajko Toroman.
BOX SCORE:
PHILIPPINES 76 – Baltazar 11, Kouame 11, Ramos 10, Abarrientos 9, Lopez 8, Sotto 7, Tamayo 6, Chiu 4, De Liano 4, Heading 3, Belangel 3, Go 0.
INDONESIA 51 – Prosper 22, Dhyaksa 8, Grahita 8, Goantara 6, Wisnu 4, Kokodiputra 3, Noor 0, Kosasih 0, Saputra 0, Sitorus 0, Teja 0.
Quarterscores: 15-11, 30-22, 51-36, 76-51./PN
