Gilas just gave itself a chance at gold.
Reeling from a shock loss to Cambodia on Thursday, Gilas Pilipinas made sure to give itself a fighting chance at redemption on Saturday by trouncing winless Singapore, 105-45, at Elephant Hall 2 of the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Felled by some ice-cold shooting just two days earlier, Gilas finally found its shooting touch against the Singaporeans, going 42-for-74 from the field overall and hitting a blistering 32-for-42 on 2-pointers. The nationals even made a few triples, converting 10 of 32 attempts. The team shot much better from the charity stripe, as well shooting 11-for-16 in the big bounce back.
Marcio Lassiter led the way for the nationals with a game-high 16 points anchored on 4 triples, while Cjay Perez added 13 markers. Justin Brownlee, who has been struggling with the unbearable heat and humidity at Elephant Hall 2, chipped in with 12, as did Jerom Lastimosa and Mike Phillips. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser added 10 as six Gilas players finished in double figures in the must-win encounter.
With the win, Gilas secured a spot in the knockout crossovers as the second seed of Group A, which means it will be facing the top seed of Group B. As of press time, reigning SEA Games champion Indonesia and emerging powerhouse Thailand are tied with identical 2-0 records and will dispute the top seed on Sunday.
Meaning, after suffering what Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas chairman emeritus Manny Pangilinan described as a disgraceful loss in the preliminaries, Gilas still has a shot at winning gold.
It will not be easy to say the least. But at least Gilas has a chance.