For the second straight game, Gilas Pilipinas was able to breeze past its opponent, adding Thailand to its growing list of victims, 87-72, for a 2-0 start in the men’s basketball competition of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
But unlike in their first game where they had a stronger second half, the Filipinos showed signs of slowing down.
They allowed the Thais to unload 13 unanswered points and threatened to within, 63-68, before the Filipinos broke their offensive drought past midway the third period.
But once Gilas got themselves settled, they’ve never found themselves seriously threatened.
CJ Perez had another productive game for the Filipinos as he pumped in 16 markers to go along with seven rebounds and four assists while naturalized player Justin Brownlee led the way with 19 points and ended up with 11 boards.
But Scottie Thompson had a monster game as he flirted with a triple-double performance., He had seven points, eight rebounds and nine assists and a +28 in efficiency rating.
Next in line for the Filipinos is Jordan where they will meet another familiar foe in former Philippine Basketball Association Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
On opening day, the Philippines ran roughshod over another former Best Import in Wayne Chism and the rest of Bahrain, 89-61, but they expect a tougher match up with the Jordanian side that played in the recent FIBA World Cup in Manila.
