THE national men’s team exacted revenge against Lebanon via a 107-96 one-sided victory in a game on Friday night that had all the elements Filipino fans wanted to see from Gilas Pilipinas—chemistry, impeccable three-pointing shooting, solid defense, and those rattling slam from the athletic Jamie Malonzo.
So sweet was the vengeful triumph that after the smoke cleared, Gilas’s numbers earned a niche in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers—the highest score of 107 points so far in the qualifiers, 31 assists, and 17 three-pointers, which sent the Philippines tied with Japan, Australia, and Kazakhstan with the most numbers of triples in a game.
“Obviously we’re satisfied with our performance, we shot the ball very well and only committed 13 turnovers. It’s a very good offensive performance on our end but there’s a lot of things to improve,” said Chot Reyes, who at times ceded to his deputy, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Tim Cone, during timeouts.
The victory was the fourth straight for the Philippines in the sixth and last window of these FIBA qualifiers Gilas pulled off before an enthusiastic crowd at the Philippine Arena, which will also host the final of the FIBA World Cup the country is co-hosting from August 25 to September 10 with Japan and Indonesia.
The Philippines is now 6-3 won-lost in Group E and could make it seven victories if Gilas beats Jordan at the end of its qualifiers campaign on Monday also starting at 6 p.m. in the same Bocaue venue.
Lebanon—which beat the Philippines, 85-81, in the fourth window—fell to 7-2 but still qualified for the World Cup for leading the group.
Justin Brownlee? He made an impact in his debut both as a naturalized player for the Philippines and on the FIBA stage.
The resident Barangay Ginebra San Miguel import whose Gin Kings brand of plays with Scottie Thompson and Malonzo solicited cheers from the fans went 50 percent with his shots to pace the host team with 17 points he laced with four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Malonzo posted 15 points while 6-foot-7 Mason Francis Amos, only 18 and fresh out of the Gilas youth program, played eight quality minutes in the men’s game and finished debuted with 13 points highlighted by three triples.
Jordan Heading and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. had 10 points also for Gilas Pilipinas which saw all but one player barging into the scoring column.
Gilas played with cohesion and near perfection in shooting and was in control at the half, 53-41, and posted its biggest lead 90-67 early in the third quarter.
Lebanon rallied in the fourth quarter but ran out of time.
More than 15,000 fans witnessed the rout but only filled up a third of the cavernous Philippine Arena—although by Smart Araneta Coliseum and MOA Arena standards, that qualifies as a near-jampacked attendance.
Image credits: FIBA