The Vietnam dribblers initially stunned the home team when it threatened to pull away in the first quarter after leading 5-4 early in the quarter but Gilas, powered by June Mar Fajardo in the shaded lane, fired a series of lay ups and outside shots to end the first quarter at 28-16.
Vietnam failed to regain its 12 point deficit in the opening quarter and by end of the first half, Gilas was leading by 24 points at 53-29.
Neophyte Mathew Wright led Gilas top scorers at 19 points followed by Calvin Abueva and Raymund Almazan with 16 points each while Troy Roasario contributed 12 points. Jiovani Halalon did 10 points while Alein Malicsi had eight points. Roger Pogoy and Jason Castro contributed seven points each. Usual top scorers June Mar Fajardo,Japeth Aguilar and Terence Romeo accounted for the remaining points.
Coach Chot Reyes did not field Andray Blatche apparently to save his energy for Gilas’ crucial game against Indonesia for the gold medal tomorrow night.
“From the start, we knew Indonesia is going to be the toughest opponent, so we can only find ourselves here. They’re getting ready as well and they’re raring to go as well. They have a couple of guys who are very, very fresh,” said Reyes, who is wary of the two new players Indonesia has fielded in their last game against Myanmar.
It was Gilas’ fifth victory in the ongoing SEABA Games. The Philippine Team is tied with Indonesia at 5-0. The two leading teams will collide on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
South East Asian countries participating the the 2017 SEABA Games include Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Read more:
The winner in the ongoing SEABA Games will qualify for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup which will take place in Lebanon from August 10 to August 20, 2017.
