Gilas men rout Malaysia; women demolish Singapore

GILAS PILIPINAS bucked a slow start to hammer Malaysia, 83-58, for a rousing debut in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) men’s basketball on Sunday at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok. Bo

bby Ray Parks, Jr. posted 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals as Gilas recovered from a six-point deficit in the first quarter en route to 1-0 slate in Group A. Ni

ne more players racked up the scoring board with team captain Robert Bolick and Thirdy Ravena scoring 17 and 13 points, respectively, for the Nationals, who will face Vietnam next in a bid to sweep the group play and book an outright ticket. A

win by Gilas against Vietnam on Monday would propel the squad straight to the semifinals with the second and third-ranked squads still needing to go through the qualification under the new SEAG basketball format. “I

t’s a good win but we gotta work harder,” said coach Norman Black, still working on the chemistry of the hastily-formed unit with only a little practice together. “We have

to get better as the tournament goes on. It’s actua

lly our first game as a group and when I say first game, it’s really a first game. We’re trying t

o give it a chance to grow but obviously, this is our first game together so will try to learn from this and grow and become a better team as the tournament goes on.” Gilas, filled with

last-minute replacements due to injuries, new rules and unavailability of some key players, found Malaysia a tough nut to crack with a 16-22 deficit in the opening frame only to flip the switch in the second period on a torrid 26-4 tear to take a comfortable 42-26 lead at the turn. There was no looki

ng back for the Nationals from there, on their way to a 25-point win. Chun Hong Ting and