THE GILAS Cadets stepped their game up in the second half to rout Indonesia, 81-52, and get their gold-medal campaign in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games basketball tournament off to a fantastic start yesterday at the OCBC Arena in Singapore.
The Cadets held a 14-4 lead after the first canto but struggled to put the Indons away in the ensuing period, which ended with the Philippines on top by just 11, 35-24.
But the third proved to be a different story as the Nationals ran off a 25-10 run that firmly placed them ahead, 60-34, heading to the final frame.
Reigning UAAP MVP Kiefer Ravena led the squad with 16 points, three steals and two rebounds while former National University standout Troy Rosario added a double-double of 15 points and 11 boards. Almond Vosotros also lit up Indonesia’s perimeter defense for 14 points.
The Gilas gun for its second win of this tournament when it battles recent Cebu-visitors, Malaysia at 4 p.m. today at the same venue.
Malaysia’s national squad, coached by Filipino Paul Advincula, competed in the Cebu City Mayor’s Cup Invitational a few weeks ago and placed third.
The Perlas Pilipinas, meanwhile, bounced back from its opening day 57-62 loss to Thailand by routing Vietnam, 100-55.
Allana Lim led the winners with 17 points.