The Philippine national youth basketball team cruised to a third consecutive win after beating Malaysia, 87-68, in the 2016 SEABA Under-18 Championship on Monday.
After blowout wins in their first two outings, Batang Gilas faced its first real test of the tournament, trailing by two points after the first quarter and leading by only six at the half. But the Filipino boys got the job done in the second half, where their lead breached the 20-point mark.
Team captain Gian Mamuyac led the way with 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists while fellow starter Joshua Sinclair had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds alongside four assists.
Jonas Tibayan added 11 points and eight rebounds while Rendell Lee had nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from three-point range.
The Filipinos, after handily beating their first two opponents by 56 and 81 points, trailed by two points at the end of the first quarter, 24-22.
They did better in the second period, opening on an 11-0 run to push ahead. Mamuyac hit in transition to open scoring while Lee and Evan Nelle knocked down three-pointers in the run.
The Batang Gilas defense held steady, holding Malaysia scoreless for nearly four minutes giving their foes their first points at the 6:15 mark of the period.
Some late triples from Malaysia’s Joon Kang Lee, though, managed to limit the lead to just six, 46-40, heading into the half.
Lee led the Philippines with nine points at the half. Mamuyac, Nelle and John Bryle Bahio all had eight.
Like the second quarter, they started the third with a big opening effort, particularly on defense, not giving up a point until the 4:35 mark – at that point already taking a 15-point lead, 55-40.
They entered the fourth quarter up by 14 points, 66-52, but got a three-pointer from Mamuyac and a three-point play from Sinclair to make it a 20-point game.
They led by as many as 23 points, 82-59, before cruising in the endgame.
Batang Gilas will still face Singapore and undefeated hosts Indonesia in the six-team tournament.
