It wasn’t pretty, but Gilas Pilipinas got the job done against Indonesia, pulling out a hard-earned 71-68 victory at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok. With the win, the nationals booked a slot in the gold-medal match of the men’s 5×5 basketball tournament in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).
But, as happened against Malaysia and Vietnam, the national team had to sweat things out early as it again fell behind, this time by as much as 12 points, 25-13, in the opening quarter.
Gilas Battles Back Again
Despite the early struggles, Gilas started to find its stride in the second quarter behind the energetic defense and timely hits of Jamie Malonzo and Thirdy Ravena.
Gilas then pulled ahead in the third, with Malonzo and Ravena again leading the way, this time with offensive help from Matthew Wright, Ray Parks Jr., and Robert Bolick.
Indonesia Strikes Back But Falls Short
Gilas built as much as a 16-point lead, 68-52 and 70-54, with under four minutes left in the fourth quarter and looked primed for a blowout win. But the Indonesians had one last fight left in them, uncorking a 14-0 blast to turn a 70-54 deficit into a 70-68 game with seconds left in regulation.
The Gilas defense, though, held steady in the end, denying the Indonesians a chance to tie the game and send it to extra time.
Malonzo, Ravena Lead Gilas
Ravena and Malonzo led the way, adding some timely baskets to their intense, all-over-the-court defense. Ravena top-scored for the nationals with 16 points on top of 6 rebounds, while Malonzo added 13 markers, 3 boards, and 5 steals—mostly while guarding Indonesian big man Derrick Xzavierro. Parks and Bolick chipped in 12 and 10, respectively.
Xzavierro, a U.S. NCAA Division I player, had a game-high 22 points for Indonesia to go along with his 15 rebounds. Abraham Grahita added 13.
