Gilas stays unbeaten, sweeps Thailand in Bahrain bubble

Photo from Fiba.com

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilpinas completed a sweep of Thailand after a 93-69 win on Monday night in the second window of the Fiba Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers in Manama, Bahrain.

Just like in their first encounter, Gilas banked on a blistering second quarter to pull away from Thailand and improve to 3-0 to lead Group A in the standings.

Javi Gomez De Liaño had a near-perfect game on the offensive end with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-4 from the three-point area.

His brother Juan also had it going from downtown with four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points while Dwight Ramos and Matt Nieto added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Filipinos outscored the Thais, 27-15, in the pivotal second period.

But Thailand, led by its promising big man Chanatip Jakrawan, kept fighting and even pulled within 14 late in the third quarter before Javi and Juan made timely baskets that kept Thailand at bay.

Jakrawan was a handful for Gilas as he finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds.

Gilas also trounced Thailand, which didn’t have its best player in Tyler Lamb in the bubble, 93-61, last Friday.