Gilas Pilipinas took a big step towards securing a ticket to the next round of 5×5 basketball in the 20th Asian Games with a 109-78 drubbing of Kazakhstan on Saturday at the Aichi International Arena.
Faced with a must-win situation, Gilas Pilipinas raced out to an 11-0 lead to open the game and a 17-5 lead with under four minutes left in the opening frame. But Kazakhstan ended the first on a 10-1 run to inch closer, 18-15, after one.
Gilas Pilipinas responded with their own 20-2 blast—including 12 unanswered at one point—to open the second quarter and extend the lead to 38-17 and get the rout going. Robert Bolick starred in this stretch, scoring a couple of deuces and hitting back-to-back treys at one point. But, like in the first, Kazakhstan outscored the Philippines, 7-2, to end the half just down 50-37.
Gilas Pilipinas Closes the Door
It was much of the same thing after halftime, with Gilas Pilipinas maintaining control in the third and pushing the lead to 82-66 as the offense continued to connect. Still, the Kazakhs were in the game, 84-73, with 7:17 remaining. That’s when Jerrick Ahanmisi got blazing hot, first splitting his freebies and then hitting four consecutive treys in a personal 13-1 run that built the nationals a 97-74 cushion.
Ahanmisi led all scorers with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting from deep. Robert Bolick also found his rhythm, adding 20 markers on a 4-for-6 clip from trey territory. Calvin Oftana chipped in 12, Sedrick Barefield tallied 11 points and 5 assists, and Zavier Lucero contributed 10 points and 9 boards.
For the game, Gilas Pilipinas shot a blistering 16-for-29 from the arc and 33-for-64 overall to bounce back in a big way from their ghastly shooting against Bahrain.
What This Means and What’s Next
Gilas Pilipinas’ 31-point win gives the Philippines a real pathway to the knockout stage because of a strong point differential of +27. The nationals can advance outright and with no complications if they can win their next assignment, a game against China, on Monday, September 14.
Should Gilas Pilipinas lose to China, their blowout of Kazakhstan could help them advance to the quarters as one of the two best third-place teams across the three groups. In this case, the Philippines’ fate would depend on the results of the other games.
