Gilas Pilipinas Boys huddle up after beating Indonesia in the Fiba U18 Asia Cup.–Photo from Fiba
MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas Boys couldn’t have asked for a better start to their campaign at the Fiba U18 Asia Cup in Jordan on Monday night.
Gilas got off to a rousing start, cruising past Indonesia, 75-48, even without its star guard Andy Gemao.
Gemao, who has been ruled out of the continental meet due to a fractured hand, was barely missed with coach Josh Reyes’ wards firing from all cylinders.
READ: Gilas Pilipinas Boys’ Andy Gemao out of Fiba U18 Asia Cup
After a tight opening frame, the Philippines shut down Indonesia to just two points in the second quarter to build a 38-16 advantage in the first half.
Gilas, which shot 13-of-29 from long distance, led by as many as 36 points against an Indonesian squad that struggled to hit from the outside hitting just one out of its 14 attempts.
Cabs Cabonilas proved his mettle with a team-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, a steal and a block while Drei Lorenzo added 12 points all coming from long range.
READ: Fiba U18 Asia Cup-bound Gilas Boys sweep Seaba qualifiers
Gilas takes on host Jordan, which lost to New Zealand, 71-62, next on Wednesday.
The top squads in each of the four groups will book an outright quarterfinals berth while the second and third-seeded teams will clash in a crossover qualification for a quarters ticket.