Gilas safely makes semis with lopsided win

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas rebounded strong from its loss to the naturalized-laden host team and booked entry to the 32nd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball semis with a lopsided 105-45 win over Singapore yesterday at the Morodok Techo Stadium Elephant Hall 2 in Phnom Penh.

The Filipinos raced to a 29-5 start and never encountered resistance for a 60-point victory that brought them back on track in their redemption bid in the biennial meet.

At 2-1, Gilas finished in second spot in Group A behind the unbeaten hosts for a collision course against either Thailand or reigning gold medalist Indonesia in the semifinals.

Thailand and Indonesia, both at 2-0 in Group B, duke it out in a leadership battle today before the semifinals on Monday.

Marcio Lassiter, who bled for just four points against the Cambodians, regained his touch with 16 points on four triples to headline Gilas’ cruise that kept them in the hunt to regain supremacy in the biennial meet.

CJ Perez chimed in 13 as Jerom Lastimosa (12), Mike Phillips (12) and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (10) threw in solid help for the wards of coach Chot Reyes.

Justin Brownlee, who nursed cramps and dehydration against Cambodia, returned to his old, fiery form with a full 12-6-8-2-1 statline in only 19 minutes of play.

Shi Yu Ng (10) was the only double-digit scorer for winless Singapore (0-3).