By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--Gilas Pilipinas blasted Malaysia out of the SEA Games men's basketball competition with a 98-66 win at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday night.
Gilas won the match in blowout fashion despite a late first quarter run from Malaysia that actually gave the host nation the lead.
Gilas actually started hot, opening the game on an 11-2 run, but Malaysia turned the tides with an 18-4 run for a 20-15 lead later in the first period.
Gilas quickly recovered in the second quarter and opened a 47-35 lead at halftime.
The killer blow, however, happened in the final 4:43 of the third quarter, when Gilas went on a 16-4 run following the ejection of Carl Cruz and Baser Amer after a heated moment for a commanding lead that even went to as high as 35 points.
Chris Standhardinger came close to a 20-20 as he tallied 18 points and 18 rebounds for Gilas, which swept its Group A assignments.
Kobe Paras added 16 points, eight rebounds, one steal, and one block off the bench while providing yet another highlight reel with a thunderous slam at the death.
Kuek Tian-Yuan led Malaysia, which fell to third place at 1-2 to end the classification phase, with 14 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block.
The result gives Thailand, which will play Myanmar on Thursday, a free ride to the semifinals as the second seed behind top-seeded Gilas.
Both Gilas and Thailand will await for their respective opponents in the knockout semifinals on Friday at the said venue.
Box Scores:
Philippines 98-Standhardinger 18, Paras 16, Ravena 12, Rosario 12, Vosotros 6, Ferrer 6, Tolomia 5, Jose 4, Pessumal 4, Cruz 3, Parks 2
Malaysia 66-Kuek 14, Ting 10, Teo 9, Wong 8, Yeo 7, Chee 7, Loh 5, Lim 4, Ma 2, Soo 0, Wong 0
Quarterscores: 18-20, 47-35, 73-46, 98-66
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