MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas moved to within a win from completing a sweep of the Group A play in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers after drubbing Indonesia, 76-51, at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center on Friday night.
Similar to Gilas' nail-biting win against South Korea on Wednesday night, Gilas needed a strong second half to pull away from Indonesia.
In a far cry from the usual, Gilas struggled offensively in the first half as Indonesia held them to only a shade under 28 percent from the field.
The Indos, however, had their sluggish moments in the first 20 minutes, and Gilas entered halftime ahead, 30-22.
Gilas finally got its offensive game going in the second half, outscoring Indonesia, 46-29, to break loose for good.
Balti Baltazar and Ange Kouame each scored 11 points to lead Gilas, which moved up to 5-0 in the standings.
Dwight Ramos added a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds with one assist and three steals.
In his Gilas debut, Lebron Lopez made both his two field-goal attempts and finished with eight points alongside five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block.
Gilas can complete the sweep if it beats South Korea again on Sunday.
Lester Prosper put up 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, eight rebounds, and four blocks for Indonesia, which fell to 1-4.
Meanwhile, in Group B action earlier in the day, Japan blew past Chinese Taipei, 98-61.
Japan gradually pulled away from Chinese Taipei in the first half before sealing the blowout with a 28-10 third quarter.
Gavin Edwards bounced back from his rough debut against China on Wednesday by making 21 points, four rebounds, six assists, and two blocks for Japan, which is now at 2-1.
Makoto Hiejima went for a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, and made both his two free throws for 15 points with two rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Ku Mao Wei Chia led Chinese Taipei, which fell to 1-3, with 11 points.
Box Scores
First Game:
Japan – 98: Edwards 21, Hiejima 15, Kanamaru 14, Schafer 11, Shinoyama 7, Tsuji 6, Vendrame 5, K. Takeuchi 5, J. Takeuchi 5, Chambers 3, Tanaka 3, Harimoto 3
Chinese Taipei – 61: Ku 11, Su 8, Lu 8, Gadiaga 7, C. Wu 6, Morrison 5, S. Wu 5, Hsieh 4, Li 3, Lin 2, Fan 2, Chen 0
Quarterscores: 25-16, 52-38, 80-48, 98-61
Second Game:
Philippines – 76: Baltazar 11, Kouame 11, Ramos 10, Abarrientos 9, Lopez 8, Sotto 7, Tamayo 6, Gomez De Liano 4, Chiu 4, Heading 3, Belangel 3, Go 0
Indonesia – 51: Prosper 22, Grahita 8, Dhyaksa 8, Goantara 6, Wisnu 4, Kokodiputra 3, Sitorus 0, Noor 0, Kosasih 0, Saputra 0, Teja 0
Quarterscores: 15-11, 30-22, 51-36, 76-51 (PNA)
