Gilas survives fright from gritty Thailand in SEA Games debut

HANOI, May 17 ------ Gilas Pilipinas turned to June Mar Fajardo when it mattered most to shake off a brave Thailand side, 76-73, in a rocky start to its men's basketball title defense at the 31st Southeast Asian Games. Fajardo finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds to help the Philippines survive a tenacious stand by the Thais, who led by 10 early in the game and had a wide-open shot at a three-pointer that could've sent the game into overtime. After misses from the foul line by Gilas, Naikorn Jaisanuk blew an open corner three at the buzzer to the relief of Gilas coaches as well as the Philippine team's nervy supporters in the stands.

Gilas fell behind, 21-11, but rallied and grabbed a 38-34 lead by halftime. Fajardo drained a jumper with 1:07 left in the game for a 75-68 lead but the Filipinos just couldn’t put the Thais away, a part of it because of their own doing. Thirdy Ravena missed two free throws and older brother Kiefer split two foul shots with 6.7 seconds, giving Thailand an opportunity to tie the game with a three.

Gilas coach Chot Reyes said he knew that Thailand would put on a challenge having four players with American heritage in Moses Morgan, Fred Lish, Jeremy Morgan, and Antonio Price Soonthornchote, who topscored with 18 points. “This was really the team that I was worried about,” Reyes said. “We are playing four Americans and we knew that this is a high-quality team. I don’t want to say that I expected it but I knew that there is a possibility that that start would happen. We just talked among ourselves to make sure that we don’t panic and we stick to our game plan. In the end, our experience just came through. But like I said, our postgame talk was all about the need to just get better,” said Reyes.

The scores:

Philippines 76 – Fajardo 28, T. Ravena 17, Tautuaa 9, Pogoy 6, K. Ravena 5, Wright 4, Rosario 3, Go 2, Montalbo 2.

Thailand 73 – Soonthornchote 18, M. Morgan 15, Muangboon 12, Lish 10, Jaisanuk 6, Jakwaran 4, Chanthachon 4, Towaroj 2, J. Morgan 2, Klaewnarong 0, Chungyampin 0, Klahan 0.

Quarters: 13-21; 38-34; 58-52; 76-73.

Source: spin.ph