The Filipinos, powered by RenRen Ritualo, Wynne Arboleda and Ryan Bernardo, surged ahead, 26-11, by the end of the first quarter and were never headed en route to a 2-win, 1-loss card after the elimination round of the eight-nation tournament.
USA-Fukien, which beat RP FedEx-Burlington (91-70) in the inaugurals, emerged as Group B top qualifier with a 3-0 record following an 81-59 thrashing of Japan-Kagoshima, also Thursday.
The crossover semis will be today, with RP FedEx-Burlington tackling defending champion Hong Kong, which swept Group A, and USA-Fukien facing Malaysia (2-1). The tournament took a break yesterday.
"Slowly but surely, they (players) are getting to play as one," said national coach Johny Tam. "I hope they would be a tightly knit group by the time we play Hong Kong."
Tam and assistant coaches Ching Marcelino and Erick King watched Hong Kong subdue Malaysia, 89-79, late Thursday. They conducted practice Friday afternoon focusing on how to neutralize Hong Kong’s 7-foot-center Sung Fong, 6-8 forward Li Wai-jun and 6-2 deadshot Yung Kam-wah.
John Ferriols, the most consistent among the Filipinos thus far, conspired with Ritualo to give RP its biggest spread, 72-49, with 32 seccnds left in the third quarter.
Ritualo led the Nationals’ balanced offensive with 19 points, including three triples, and was supported by Ferriols with 16, Arboleda 15, Ricky Ricafuente 12 and Bernardo 10.