By JONAS TERRADO
Gilas Pilipinas cruised to another win in the men’s basketball of the 31st Southeast Asian Games with an 88-37 drubbing of Singapore Wednesday in Hanoi, Vietnam.
A 15-1 start was all Gilas needed in the match held at the Tranh Tri Gymnasium to secure a third straight win halfway into its quest to win the gold for a record-extending 19th time.
RR Pogoy topscored with 19 points while youngster LeBron Lopez once again took advantage of the heavy minutes given to him by coach Chot Reyes by posting 18 points.
Jaydee Tungcab and Matthew Wright were the other Gilas players in double figures with 11 apiece.
After a scary 76-73 win over Thailand, the Filipinos won their next two matches by an average margin of 59.5 points.
Gilas beat Cambodia, 100-32, the other night.
But the Philippines may face some stiff challenge Thursday as it takes on Vietnam at 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. Manila time).
Vietnam is unbeaten in two matches, including an 86-83 win over Singapore Tuesday.
Pogoy and Wright combined for 10 points in the first quarter as Gilas capitalized on that blazing start to lead 17-7.
The two continued to produce points in the second quarter which saw Gilas extend its lead to 43-17 at the half.
No Singaporean scored at least 10 points, with ASEAN Basketball League veteran Leon Kwek posting six.
