By JONAS TERRADO
Gilas Pilipinas played as a collective unit before its first home game in front of fans since the pandemic and rolled past India, 88-64, Friday, in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Dwight Ramos, Thirdy Ravena, RR Pogoy and Robert Bolick all scored in double figures while Kib Montalbo was also impressive in his national team debut as Gilas won its first official taste of action in the qualifying window.
It was actually the Philippines’ second win in as many games in Group A after being awarded a victory over South Korea the other day due to the latter’s pullout from the window due to COVID-19 concerns.
That brought happy faces from Gilas supporters who saw their team in the flesh after almost two years.
But Gilas had to withstand a stubborn Indian side early in the first quarter before cruising control the rest of the way to hand coach Chot Reyes a winning start to his latest tenure with the national squad.
Now, Gilas hopes to end the February window on a bright note with a tall order against New Zealand on Sunday.
New Zealand is fresh from a 101-46 drubbing of India on Thursday.
Ramos, playing at the Big Dome for the first time in his career, had 17 points, four rebounds and three assists while fellow B.League cager Ravena added 15 in his first Gilas appearance in FIBA tournament since 2020.
Pogoy, already healthy after missing four PBA games for TNT due to an injured calf, put up 12 points, four rebounds and two steals even as Bolick made 10 points with two triples.
The pesky Montalbo impressed with eight points, three rebounds and one steals in 15 minutes off the bench. His buzzer-beating three from way out to end the third period put Gilas ahead 68-47.
Sahaij Sekhon and Prashant Singh Rawat scored 14 and 13 points but India remained winless after two matches with a game left in the window.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 88 — Ramos 17, Ravena 15, Pogoy 12, Bolick 10, Montalbo 8, Kouame 6, Navarro 6, Erram 5, Williams 4, Gomez de Liano 3, Rosario 2, Rangel 0.
INDIA 64 — Sekhon 14, Rawat 13, Bhriguvanshi 9, Krishnan 7, Hafeez 6, Prince 5, Singh 4, Kumar 0, Manjunatha 0.
Quarters: 18-13, 44-32, 68-47, 88-64.
