With Gary David and Paul Lee providing the firepower for the second straight game, Gilas Pilipinas ripped lowly Singapore, 74-57, Monday to remain unbeaten in the Fiba Asia Cup at Wuhan Gym in China.
David and Lee scored 10 points each and coach Chot Reyes had the luxury of giving amateurs Kevin Alas and Garvo Lanete some playing time as the Filipinos easily kept the lead in Group B.
The Filipinos committed eight turnovers in the first half and settled for a 43-31 lead at the break before pulling away for good at 56-39 going into the fourth period.
Gilas got going with a 78-64 victory over Chinese-Taipei on Saturday where Lee scored 18 points and David 16. The duo combined for 7-of-13 shots from three-point range.
Lanete, the younger brother of pro Chico Lanete, hit a triple that ushered the Filipinos to a 67-45 lead going into the final four minutes.
Singapore now has a 0-2 card even as the Filipinos shoot for the No. 1 ranking in their group when they battle the Rajko Toroman-coached Jordan crew at 5:15 p.m. today.
Alas went on to finish with eight points like Beau Belga, another reinforcement along with Lee and Jared Dillinger with some of the original Gilas members given a rest by Reyes.
After upsetting defending champion Iran, 64-51, Saturday night, host China meanwhile, took a stinging 58-65 defeat at the hands of lanky but unorthodox India late Sunday for a 2-1 card in Group A.
Iran and India, both with 1-1 records, will slug it out today.
The top four teams in Group A will join the four teams from Group B in the crossover quarterfinal round on Thursday.
Group A has five members, counting Indonesia and Japan, and will drop one entry after the preliminary round.
The two semifinal duels will be played Friday, while the finals match is slated Saturday.
Meanwhile, Indiana superstar forward Paul George will be joining an NBA Selection that will play the Nationals in two charity matches dubbed Gilas Last Home Stand on July 22 and 23 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
No less than basketball patron Manny V. Pangilinan made this announcement on his Twitter account @iamMVP.
The scores:
GILAS PILIPINAS 74—David 10, Lee 10, Alas 8, Belga 8, Aguilar 7, Lanete 7, De Ocampo 6, Tenorio 5, Fajardo 5, Dillinger 4, Washington 4, Douthit 0.
SINGAPORE 57—Ng H. 17, Wong 16, Goh 9, Oh 8, Toh 5, Lim 2, Han 0, Soo D. 0, Soo P. 0, Ng S. 0, Low 0, Ng J. 0.
Quarters: 25-14, 43-31, 56-39, 74-57