The Gilas Pilipinas won their second in a row after beating an overmatched Kuwait, 110-64, in the 2015 Fiba Asia Men’s Championship, yesterday at the CWSC Dayun in Changsha, China.
After a shocking loss in the tournament opener, the Filipinos appear to have found their rhythm, winning the last two games by an average margin of 48 points. With a 2-1 (win-loss) record, the Gilas breezes through to the second round where they, along with Group B qualifiers Palestine and Hong Kong, will combine with Iran, India and Japan to form Group E.
Cebuano guard Terrence Romeo led the Gilas in scoring with 19 points while fellow backcourt mate Jayson Castro torched the physical Kuwaiti defense with 16 markers. Calvin Abueva and JC
Intal each chipped in 10 even as three others had nine apiece. With the Filipinos firmly in control, naturalized player Andray Blatche was fielded in for just 18 minutes – the second straight game where he has seen limited playing time – and logged in eight points and eight rebounds.
Just like their last game, a 51-point blowout of Hong Kong, the result was hardly in doubt from the onset as the national team pounced on their opponents with a tenacious full-court pressure defense that the Kuwaitis could not solve. Up 11-10, the Gilas finally asserted themselves in the form of a 23-1 run that gave them a 34-11 lead after the first.
A 26-0 run bridging the first and second cantos that saw the Filipinos hold their opponents scoreless for almost 10 minutes then set the stage for the rout as it gave the Gilas a 44-11 lead.
It was a dominant across-the-board showing for the Filipinos as they outrebounded their opponents, 52-26 and shot 56% from the field while hounding Kuwait to just 36%. The Gilas however, need more work from the free-throw line, as they managed to make just 19 of their 31 attempts.
The tournament takes a break today before the second round commences tomorrow. Gilas will have a 1-1 record in the second group phase.