PH goal: Oust Thailand

Gilas Pilipinas comes out of its only rest day in the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) Championship looking to put the finishing touches to a dominating performance and seal its place in the first round of Fiba Asia World Cup Qualifying.

After destroying its first three foes by a combined margin of 209 points, Gilas is not expected to encounter anything different in its last three outings, starting with a clash with Thailand at 7 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The coaching staff led by the decorated Chot Reyes did not take anything to chance, though, thoroughly scouting the Thais, whose only chance of winning this is to defeat the Filipinos and hope that Gilas wins over Indonesia at the close of the event on Thursday.

That scenario cropped up after Thailand lost to Indonesia, 59-60 on Sunday night and the Thais vented their ire on hapless Burma (Myanmar), 102-35, on Monday.

Thailand rose to 3-1 and kept Burma winless in four games.

Reyes has seen tremendous improvement in the Filipinos’ desire to rip every foe they face, playing hard despite being ranged against inferior foes.

“Right now, our dedication and discipline on [playing] defense is a lot better,” Reyes said after a 106-51 dismantling of Malaysia on Sunday night.

Wutipong Dasom scored a tournament-high 40 points in the win over the Burmese, making him a prime target of Reyes’ defense.
An expected win by the Filipinos against the Thais and Vietnam on Wednesday, coupled with a victory by Indonesia against Vietnam would make the Gilas-Indonesia match at 7 p.m. on Thursday the championship game.

Meanwhile, Mclaude Guadaña dished out a triple double to power Batang Gilas to ace a 96-73 victory over Indonesia for its second win in the Seaba Under-16 tournament Monday.

Proving that this year’s batch has more than enough potential superstars, Guadaña, a standout from Lyceum Cavite, stepped up with 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, a day after the towering Kai Sotto showcased his improving game in a 104-82 win over Singapore.

San Beda’s Christian Calimag came off the bench to finish with 17 points, while the 6-foot-11 Sotto tallied 12 points and seven boards. —WITH A REPORT FROM CEDELF P. TUPAS