MARCUS Douthit sparked an overpowering start and Smart Gilas Pilipinas went on to crush Malaysia, 85-50, to remain unbeaten in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association Championship yesterday in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Pouring all his 11 points in the first half, the 6-foot-10 Douthit joined hands with Mac Baracael, Chris Tiu, Garvo Lanete and Emman Monfort as the Nationals all but settled the issue at halftime, 43-16.
The Malaysians never got closer than 25 the rest of the way as the Filipinos nailed their third straight win and moved a victory away from topping the tournament that serves as a qualifier for the Fiba Asia Cup in Tokyo in September.
Smart Gilas, which topped the same tournament last year by an average winning margin of 40 points, will close its schedule against Thailand today.
With victory in the bag, coach Jong Uichico pulled out Douthit with still six minutes to go in the third and the Nationals on top, 55-22, giving Woody Co, Dave Marcelo and Sonny Thoss more time to rule the paint.
Lanete led the way with 14 points and Baracael had nine. Douthit finished with 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for the Filipinos, who routed Singapore by 38 points and Indonesia by 28.
They again dominated the shaded area with a 48-27 edge off the boards and 36 points inside the paint.
The Malaysians shot a miserable 24 percent (18 of 74). June Navarro
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 85—Lanete 14, Douthit 11, Baracael 9, Tenorio 8, Thoss 8, Ramos 8, Monfort 8, Marcelo 6, Co 5, Tiu 4, Hermida 4.
MALAYSIA 50—Choo 8, Tong 7, Chong 6, S. Ng 6, Loh 6, Kuek 5, Ong 5, Gan 3, Kwaan 3, K. Ng 1, Yeo 0, Chin 0.
Quarters: 15-8, 43-16, 65-28, 85-50