Gilas Pilipinas Basketball

The Philippines opened their gold medal bid in the 30th Southeast Asian Games Philippines 2019 basketball on a sterling note as Gilas Pilipinas Men stamped its class over Singapore, 110-58 on Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.

Troy Rosario topped everyone with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, leading five double-digit scorers.

Vic Manuel and Stanley Pringle each finished with 14 points, with Pringle shooting a perfect 5-on-5 on the floor including three long range shots.

Gilas shot 58 percent from the field overall, went 11-of-23 from downtown, and dished out 38 assists. LA Tenorio and Chris Ross combined for 19 of those dimes.

Pringle and Christian Standhardinger scored the first 17 points for the Philippines to power a strong start, before Matthew Wright knocked down three straight triples to open up a 30-13 opening quarter.

The lead grew to as much as 22, 48-26 late in the second frame as head coach Tim Cone let all players suit up.

Back to back baskets by Vic Manuel with over two minutes left in the fourth quarter followed by a three from Kiefer Ravena made it a 102-57 lead for the home team.

It is the first time the Philippines went with an all-PBA roster for the biennial meet.

Philippines ties Vietnam at 1-0 in Group A. Only the top two teams per group advance to the semi-final round. The host country is targeting an 18th gold medal — including 13 straight — in the discipline

The scores:
Philippines (110) – Rosario 15, Pringle 14, Manuel 14, Wright 13, Fajardo 12, Aguilar 9, Slaughter 9, Standhardinger 8, Lassiter 7, Ravena 6, Tenorio 3, Ross 0.

Singapore (58) – Kwek 10, Toh 8, Goh 8, Z. Wong 8, Lim 6, W. Wong 6, Raj 5, Rengarajan 4, Liew 3, Low 0, Han 0, Tan 0.

Quarter-scores: 30-13, 48-28, 77-48, 110-58.

By Levi Verora Jr.