The Smart-Gilas Pilipinas moved a win away from booking a slot to the FIBA Asia Cup as they humiliated Malaysia, 85-50, yesterday in the SEABA Qualifying Tournament in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The Nationals set the tone early on as they held their opponents to just eight points each in the first and second periods, on their way to establishing a huge 43-16 advantage at the turn.
The Nationals broke the game apart in the second canto, where they scored at will en route to tallying 28 points in that stretch.
The third period offered more of the same dominance from the Gilas squad as they outscored their opponents in that period, 22-12, to build a 65-28 cushion.
Malaysia actually put up more of a fight in the last stretch as they outscored the Philippines by two, 22-20, but it was all for naught as the Nationals find themselves just a victory away from making it to the FIBA Asia Cup, formerly the Stankovic Cup, set later this year in Japan.
Garvo Lanete led the Nationals with 14 points while naturalized center Marcus Douthit manned the post with might and finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Five more players tallied eight or more points underscoring the Gilas’ balanced touch on the offensive end.
They face off against the hosts today in their final assignment of this tournament.