MANILA, Philippines, September 21 ------ The Gilas Pilipinas Boys’ Under-16 team wrapped up the preliminary round of the 2023 FIBA U16 Asian Championship with an easy 75-52 rout of Malaysia for its second win at the Al-Rayyan Indoor Hall in Doha, Qatar. With the victory, Gilas Boys secured the No. 2 spot in Group D behind China and arranged a do-or-die clash with Korea on Friday, September 22 for a seat in the quarterfinals. Coming off an 18-point, 10-rebound performance against Kazakhstan on Tuesday, Kieffer Alas, the younger brother of PBA star Kevin, picked up where he left off and delivered another double-double of 15 markers and 13 boards to show the way for the Philippines.
Kurt Velasquez, likewise, continued his steady play for Gilas Boys as he registered 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 7 rebounds, while Filipino-American point guard Elijah Williams tallied a near double-double of 9 points and 9 assists. It was Velasquez who set the tone for the Philippines early on as he fired 9 of his 13 points in the opening frame that saw the Filipinos jump out to a whopping 29-8 advantage. Similar to their 24-point demolition of the Kazakhs, where they closed out the game with a back-breaking 17-0 run, Gilas Boys went on a massive 17-2 rally at the end of the first quarter to turn a 12-6 lead at the 4:09 mark into a 21-point cushion.
The Philippines never looked back from that point on as all 11 players fielded in by Gilas Boys head coach Josh Reyes managed to put up a basket in the wire-to-wire drubbing. On the other side, no Malaysian player scored in double-digits with Yen Joon Chua, Tze Hen Brandon Kho, and Elvin Hoo leading the team with 7 points apiece.
The Scores
Philippines 75 – Alas 15, Velasquez 13, Williams 9, Morales 7, Daja 7, Chua 6, Gomez de Liaño 6, Alegre 4, Banal 3, Ludovice 3, Diao 2.
Malaysia 52 – Chua 7, Kho 7, Hoo 7, Juan 6, Chia 6, Goh 5, Khoo 4, Lai 3, Lee 3, Tan 2, Chee 2, Tan 0.
Quarters: 29-8, 45-23, 60-36, 75-52.
Source: rappler.com