Gilas Pilipinas Men kept their unblemished record after blasting Indonesia, 76-51, in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center on Friday.
The Philippines notched their fifth win behind a crucial third quarter 13-0 blast that blew the game wide open for the home team, which built a 48-31 spread.
Head coach Tab Baldwin was not satisfied with how his wards played in the first half, which he described as a frantic pace coupled with rushed shots.
"We looked like what I thought we might look like early in this campaign. We didn't settle down. We tried to push the tempo and think we're not yet ready to be an up-tempo team and then to flow to some halfcourt cohesion," said Baldwin in the post-game press conference.
"We really lacked self-discipline, like the discipline in the culture that we're working hard to establish. Without that, we're pretty ordinary," mentioned Baldwin.
Gilas seemingly found its mojo after intermission when the cadets leaned on the aforementioned 13-0 run, and went ahead by 15 after the first 30 minutes of play, 51-36.
"At first, we could not execute our plays, but in the second half, things got a lot better when we were able to follow the coaches' instructions," said Justine Baltazar.
Early in the fourth quarter, Carl Tamayo canned two consecutive triples before going down with Baldwin called a grade 1 ankle sprain after accidentally stepping on Indonesia's Arki Wisnu's foot.
Lopez and Kai Sotto then took over the scoring reins, showing off their seemingly endless energy with a couple of inside buckets to help give the Philippines a much bigger lead. Abarrientos gave Gilas its biggest advantage at 25 points, courtesy of a slashing layup.
Baltazar led Gilas in scoring with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Dwight Ramos followed up with a 10-marker, 12-board double-double. Naturalized player Lester Prosper was the lone double-digit scorer for Indonesia with 22 and hauled in eight caroms.
RJ Abarrientos gave the Philippines its biggest lead at 25 points after converting a driving layup, 74-49, late in the fourth. Dwight Ramos led the effort with a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double performance.
Indonesia, which fell to 1-4 in Group A, was led by naturalized player Lester Prosper's 22-marker, eight-board showing.
Early in the second, Prosper smashed an uncontested dunk to bring Indonesia to within a point, 18-17, but that was the closest margin the rest of the way. Gilas went on a 12-5 run to lead at halftime, 30-22.
Both teams are already qualified for Asia's biggest basketball competition. Gilas is in via their record, while Indonesia will host the affair this August.
Gilas wraps up its third window when it faces Korea again on Sunday at 3 p.m., looking to maintain their perfect win-loss card.
The Scores:
PHILIPPINES 76 -- Baltazar 11, Kouame 11, Ramos 10, Abarrientos 9, Lopez 8, Sotto 7, Tamayo 6, Gomez de Liano 4, Chiu 4, Belangel 3, Heading 3, Go 0.
INDONESIA 51 -- Prosper 22, Grahita 8, Dhyaksa 8, Goantara 6, Wisnu 4, Kokodiputra 3, Sitorus 0, Teja 0, Kosasih 0, Saputra 0, Noor 0. Quarter
Scores: 15-11, 30-22, 51-36, 76-51.
Gilas pulls away in second half, thumps Indonesia 76-51 - ESPN Philippines
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