Gilas rolls to second win, repel Thais

HANGZHOU – After a lopsided win against Bahrain, Gilas Pilipinas needed one final push to turn back Thailand, 87-72, Thursday and keep its strong momentum going in men’s basketball of the 19th Asian Games here.

The Nationals built a 19-point lead in the third quarter but took its foot off the pedal and allowed its opponent to trim the deficit at 68-63 with six minutes remaining.

It didn’t take long for coach Tim Cone’s charges to wake up, settle the issue and allow their supporters at the Zhejiang University Gymnasium to heave a sigh of relief.

It was the second win for Gilas after the opening game against Bahrain last Tuesday.

Cone had aired some concern on how they would play the Thais and must have figured during the game that there was no reason to feel threatened at all. He sounded happy with the final numbers.

“We’re not here for pogi points. We’re not here to try and win by 50 and impress everybody. No, we’re a team that came together quickly and our expectations are to win each game by a point. That’s it,” said Cone.

“If we win a game by a point, that’s all we care about. And it felt like a one-point win today,” added the same coach who steered the Philippines to third place during the 1998 Asian Games in Thailand.

The Philippines is pressed to go far in this edition, and if by any means, even a miracle of sorts, win its first gold medal in Asian Games basketball for the first time since 1962.

Up next for Gilas tomorrow is Jordan, a legitimate threat. If Gilas survives this one, then it’s on to the next round with the Filipinos feeling better and more confident. Jordan, as expected, stormed past Bahrain, 84-60.

Justin Brownlee was the biggest thorn for the Thais with 29 points.