THE Gilas Pilipinas were as dominant as ever as they crushed Myanmar by a whopping 69 points, 136-67, in the 30th Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, December 7, 2019.
The win gave the Filipinos an immaculate 3-0 win-loss record in Group A and pushed them into the semifinal round on Monday, December 9, 2019, against Indonesia which ironically, is now being coaches by the Gilas’ very first head coach, Rajko Toroman.
The Gilas sizzled from beyond the three-point arc, burying 17 from deep with sharpshooter Matthew Wright canning eight to finish with a game-high 29 points. Alaska Aces forward Vic Manuel continued his fine play in this competition as he produced 24 points along with 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block.
Troy Rosario almost had a double-double with 16 points and nine boards while Marcio Lassiter finished with 15 markers on five trifectas. Kiefer Ravena and Japeth Aguilar added 15 and 12 points, respectively. Cebuano big man Greg Slaughter also chipped in 10 points.
Reigning PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and explosive scoring guard Stanley Pringle did not even get to take their warm-up jackets off as head coach Tim Cone opted to sit them out for this game.
THE SCORES
PHILIPPINES 136 - Wright 29, Manuel 24, Rosario 16, Lassiter 15, Ravena 15, Aguilar 12, Slaughter 10, Tenorio 9, Standhardinger 6, Ross 0.
MYANMAR 67 - Myint 28, Ta 14, Justin 6, Aung 5, Tun Tun 4, Sar 4, La Ja 4, Zaw 2, Zaya 0, Wine 0, Oo 0, Htut 0.
Quarters: 32-24, 77-36, 104-49, 136-67