QUEZON CITY -- Gilas Pilipinas scored its second straight win in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers after trouncing Chinese Taipei, 90-83, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Monday night.
Gilas bucked a slow start and finished the game strong to stay unbeaten in Group B ahead of a colossal showdown against Australia, which blasted Japan earlier Monday, in Adelaide in February.
Chinese Taipei, which brought in its Team B with most of its key players still playing in the domestic leagues, started the game blistering, surprising the home side with a 17-3 lead before settling for a 23-18 lead at the end of the first period.
Gilas, however, responded with a 26-point second quarter outburst led by Junemar Fajardo to go up, 44-42, at halftime.
Both teams went toe-to-toe in the third quarter, but booming triples from Matt Wright sparked Gilas' endgame breakaway.
Jayson Castro led Gilas anew with 20 points, making all but one of his seven shots inside the arc, four rebounds, four assists, and one block.
Junemar Fajardo had his best game in a Gilas uniform, tallying 17 markers, eight boards, two dimes, and two blocks on a night when Andray Blatche was limited to only six points.
Quincy Davis led Chinese Taipei, which fell to 0-2, with 20 points, nine caroms, one assist, and one steal.
Box Scores:
Philippines 90 - Castro 20, Fajardo 17, Pogoy 11, Wright 11, Ravena 9, Abueva 8, Blatche 6, Norwood 5, Aguilar 3
Chinese Taipei 83 - Davis 20, Y. Chou 17, Huang 16, Tsai 6, Lee 6, P.C. Chou 4, P.H. Chou 3, Chen 2, Chiang 2, Lu 0, Hu 0
Quarterscores: 18-23, 44-42, 65-64, 90-83 (PNA)
