GAME Friday (OCBC Arena)
6 p.m. – Philippines vs. Timor Leste
SINGAPORE, June 11(PNA)– Taking the admonition of American coach Tab Bakdwin to heart, Sinag Pilipinas played like a man possessed to manhandled Malaysia, 100-48, on Thursday for its second straight victory in the 28th Singapore Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball tournament.
The defending champions buckled down to work early, storming to a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back in dealing the shellshocked Malaysians their opening loss in in front a predominantly Filipino gallery at the OCBC Arena here.
Sparkplug Almond Vosotros led the rout with 21 points, including five triples, Jeth Roy Rosario had 18 and naturalized center Marcus Douthit whose services were hardly needed, added 12 points and eight rebounds.
“Yeah, they played a lot better, they played with the right mentality, the right purpose, that was the message they got,” noted Baldwin, who had scolded his boys for their lack of focus despite their 81-52 conquest of Indonesia last Wednesday.
“What I really liked about this team is that they really have a great attitude about basketball themselves as Filipino basketball players,” he added.
“As coaches, when we ask them to do something, they respond every time. They are fantastic group to be with.”
From a 48-20 halftime bulge, the Filipinos continued with their fast and furious assault to stretch their advantage to 75-35 entering the final quarter.
Baldwin said after their high-level performance he would not be surprised “if there is an energy letdown” against Timor Leste tomorrow.
He pointed that he was not to embarrass the Timorese “knowing that this is a new competition for them. We don’t want to embarrass anybody, but we also want our players to play well. We’ll just see how the game unfolds.”(PNA)