By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas put its medal campaign back on track after venting its ire on the hapless Qatar with a resounding 80-41 victory in the men’s 5-on-5 basketball competition at the Zhejiang University Zijingang Gymnasium in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Monday, Oct. 2.
Picking themselves up from a gut-wrenching 87-62 defeat against Jordan just two days ago, the Nationals came out guns blazing right on the opening frame to quickly take the fight out of the Qataris and book a date against Asian powerhouse Iran in the quarterfinals.
Gilas dominated on both ends of the floor in what turned out to be the Filipinos’ finest start in the tournament after opening the game on a blistering 29-8 count that set the tone for the rout.
The Nationals built a 33-14 advantage at the end of the first 10 minutes and, as if that was still not enough, dropped a masterful 24-9 second quarter to thoroughly break the spirits of the opposition.
It was a total team effort for the Filipinos with seven players scoring at least eight points – a stark contrast to their game against Jordan where Justin Brownlee was left to carry the fight with 24 points as his local support fired blanks.
This time, though, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez and Calvin Oftana spearheaded the strong first half as Brownlee didn’t even have to play in the last two quarters with the lead far out of reach.
Fajardo and Perez shared the scoring honors with 12 apiece while Oftana added 11 spiked by three triples in the first frame. Brownlee still finished with nine points and five rebounds despite the limited minutes.
Japeth Aguilar also had nine to his name as Kevin Alas finished with eight and Ange Kouame with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Nedic Muslic was the lone bright spot for the Qataris with 12 points.
Despite the win lifting Gilas to the Last 8, the Filipinos have no time to celebrate as they immediately play the Iranians on Tuesday at 12 noon.
Iran, which bid goodbye to its long-time pillar in Hamed Haddadi during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, didn’t look like undergoing a rebuild after a 3-0 sweep in the Asiad group stage although Gilas is set to become its first acid test in the tournament after only playing Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia
