HANGZHOU, China — What was expected to be a fierce duel between two powerhouse teams turned into a light workout with Gilas Pilipinas running away with an easy 89-61 victory over Bahrain in the men’s basketball event of the 19th Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Gymnasium here.
Naturalized players Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame buckled down to work early, helping Gilas build a 29-15 lead in the first period en route to a huge 18-point lead at halftime, 51-33, to dictate the tempo the rest of the way.
Brownlee fired 20 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and one steal while Kouame had 15 markers and seven rebounds that gave Gilas coach Tim Cone the luxury of fielding his new players in Kevin Alas, Arvin Tolentino, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez in the fourth quarter to get them familiarized with his system before heading into a crucial game against Thailand on Thursday.
“When we got a good lead, we let those new guys in just so they have more extended time executing and playing together and really get a better feel of what we’re trying to do,” said Cone, who is looking to accomplish a personal milestone of surpassing his bronze medal finish in the Bangkok edition of the Asian Games in 1998.
“They came only a few days ago and they didn’t have the foundation that the other eight guys had. Oh, it’s actually seven because Marcio was also part of that, he came also late.”
Cone said winning over the Thais will not be easy.
Thailand, for one, had shown great improvement and could be a serious threat with the inclusion of its half-foreign players led by Tyler Lamb.
“We saw Thailand in the Southeast Asian Games but we didn’t get to play against them. They were knocked out by Cambodia,” Cone said, adding that they will be curious onlookers when the Thais face Jordan late Tuesday.
“Thailand is a much stronger team than Bahrain. And Jordan, of course, is much, much stronger than Thailand so we kinda go up the level. We kinda continue to rise in our game because we’re going to be playing a tougher opponent each time out.”
Former Philippine Basketball Association import Wayne Chism was a non-factor after being held to only five points while Jameel Almoathin bannered the listless Bahrainis with 14 markers.
The Bahrainis did have their way from beyond the arc overall with 12 three-pointers but they were overpowered inside and had no answer to the Filipinos’ height and strength underneath.
Also flaunting their might are Olympians Carlo Paalam of boxing and Margielyn Didal of skateboarding as well as tennis princess Alex Eala for the Filipinos, who remain in the hunt for the elusive gold medal after Patrick King Perez and Jones Inso copped the bronze medals in taekwondo and wushu, respectively.
Palaam kicked off his campaign on a high note as he overcame the taller, longer Mohammad Jajeh Abu of Jordan in the Round of 32 of the men’s 57-kilogram boxing event at the Hangzhou Gymnasium.
“He was so much taller than me so I just stuck to the game plan and followed the instructions of my coaches,” said Paalam, who won the silver medal in the 51-kg category but had to fight in a heavier weight class after the organizers came up with some key changes.
“Even if I am new to this weight class, I will still do everything to make it to the Olympics. My opponents here are taller and longer so might as well adjust and do everything to win.”
Didal, meanwhile, registered 41.53 points on her second run to make the cut for the final round on Wednesday at the Qiantang Roller Sports Centre.
Zeng Wenhui of China topped the qualifying heat after scoring 69.15 on her second attempt followed by fellow Chinese skater Cui Chenxi, who tallied 66.36.
Joining the 24-year-old Didal in the final are Japanese Yumeka Oda (64.26) and Miyu Ito (53.96) and Vareeraya Sukasem of Thailand (45.39).
Eala was also victorious, surviving a marathon duel against a gritty Rutuja Bhosale of India, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinals of the women’s singles event at the nearby Olympic Sports Stadium.
The 18-year-old Eala needed 72 minutes and a tiebreaker to overcome her 27-year-old foe in a tightly-contested first set that thrilled a small but energetic crowd.
It, however, was already a breeze in the second set to book a quarterfinal duel with Kyoka Okamura of Japan, who prevailed over Savanna Ly-Nguyen of Vietnam, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, in the other second round encounter.
Eala holds a slight edge over Okamura owing to her better Women’s Tennis Association ranking at No. 192 while Okamura is ranked 223rd.
