Gilas holds on to dear life vs Indonesia to grab first ticket to SEAG final

PATTAYA, Thailand, December 19 ------ Gilas Pilipinas secured a place in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games men's basketball final, fending off Indonesia, 71-68 at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.

The Philippines overcame a late Indonesian rally that wiped out a 16-point deficit to seal a place in the final. Still, Gilas needed a tough stand in Indonesia's final possession that wound up as a missed three to pull off the victory. The Nationals will face either Thailand or Malaysia in the gold medal match on Friday, 7:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. Manila time).

Thirdy Ravena led the Filipinos' offense with 16 points, including a basket that made it 70-54 with four minutes to play in the ballgame. Gilas, though, then went on a scoring drought with the lead dwindling to two points, 70-68, on two free throws by Abraham Grahita with 22 seconds left. Indonesia was forced to foul, but was still alive when Robert Bolick split his two free throws with 7.3 seconds left only to see the Philippines seal the deal with a defensive stand. Gilas had to deal with Derrick Michel Xzavierro who had 22 points and 15 rebounds, while shooting 9-of-11 from the field.

The Scores:

Philippines 71 – Ravena 16, Malonzo 13, Parks 12, Bolick 10, Erram 9, Wright 5, Manzano 4, Panopio 2, Tratter 0, Pessumal 0.

Indonesia 68 – Xzavierro 22, Grahita 13, Diagne 13, Goantara 8, Saputera 6, Dhyaksa 4, Yonga 2, Chalias 0.

Quarters: 15-27; 33-34; 54-46; 71-68.

Source: spin.ph