By JONAS TERRADO
The men’s and women’s teams of Gilas Pilipinas begin the final stretch of their title-retention bids in the Southeast Asian Games when they return from a one-day break Saturday in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Gilas takes on struggling Singapore in the ladies side at 9 a.m. local time (10 a.m.) before the men’s squad plays Malaysia at 11 a.m. (12 noon) at the Tranh Tri Gymnasium.
Both teams need to win each of their final two games to repeat the twin victories produced during the 2019 edition held at the Mall of Asia Arena.
They put themselves in a strong position of keeping their titles after posting lopsided wins over host Vietnam before a packed crowd Thursday.
Khate Castillo’s hot shooting and another all-around effort from Afril Bernardino allowed Gilas to take down Vietnam, 118-87, for a 3-0 record.
Their men counterparts, however, had to endure some rough patches before pulling away for an 88-60 win behind June Mar Fajardo, Kiefer Ravena and LeBron Lopez.
At 4-0, Gilas is closing in on a 14th consecutive gold and a record-extending 19th overall.
Today’s matches are expected to be warmup before the two Filipino squads go for the clincher Sunday.
Gilas Women will play Malaysia, which at presstime is tied for second with Indonesia at 2-1, while Gilas Men meets Indonesia, also unbeaten through three matches.
But first, the two Gilas teams will have to hurdle their respective opponents which are in a precarious situation.
Singapore has yet to win in the distaff side while Malaysia totes a 2-2 record.
