The Gilas Pilipinas juggernaut needed over 20 minutes to get started but when it did, a gutsy Vietnam opponent just couldn't keep up anymore.
Up by only 12 at the turn, the Gilas cagers shifted to high gear in the second half to carve their way to a 110-69 triumph and a 2-0 start in the 30th Southeast Asian Games men's basketball pool play Friday at MOA Arena.
The Tim Cone-coached squad unleashed June Mar Fajardo in a searing 28-17 third-quarter exchange that catapulted the hosts to a 23-point tear, which they went on to stretch until the final buzzer en route to their expected stint in the semifinals.
"It's a real struggle early," said coach Tim Cone, whose wards couldn't fully shake off the pesky Vietnamese in the first half, particularly Vietnamese-American Chris Dierker, who already accounted for 19 through two quarters.
"Vietnam got some real athletes, different from (first day opponent) Singapore and they had a go-to guy in Dierker, it was tough matching up with his size and quickness. But as expected, we're a team that wears opponents down with our depth and talent."
Sponsored content:
Fajardo banged in 12 of his team-high 23 in the penultimate quarter, which Gilas started with a 10-0 bomb to widen the gap to 22.
"We're 12 man deep and anyone from the 12 can go out and be a force. We just want to be careful trying to do everything in the first quarter," said Cone, who also drew production from LA Tenorio (14), Vic Manuel (14), Troy Rosario (12), Stanley Pringle (11) and Greg Slaughter (10).
Dierker, Vietnam's main man, finished with 28 with only Duong Justin Young supporting with 13.
Cone said the Filipinos lacked the energy and defensive spunk in the first half, allowing Dierker and Co. to stay within striking distance.
"We came out in the second half the way we should have come out in the first half. We were a defensive presence, we made stops. we got a steal to start the quarter and that kind of keyed us into the rhythm that we wanted to play at," said Cone.
Sponsored content:
Gilas, which opened its campaign with a 110-58 massacre of Singapore two nights before, goes for a sweep of the elims against Myanmar (0-2) tonight while Vietnam finished the elims with 2-1, good for No. 2 in the group and a spot to the Last-4. (OL) / PHOTO:Marlo Cueto (spin.ph)
The Scores:
Philippines 110 - Fajardo 23, Manuel 14, Tenorio 14, Rosario 12, Pringle 11. Slaughter 10, Wright 7, Aguilar 6, Lassiter 6, Ravena 5, Ross 1, Standhardinger 1
Vietnam 69 - Dierker 28, Young 13, Tran 7, Le 6, Dinh 5, Nguyne 4, Vo 2, Du 1, S. Nguyen 0
Quarterscores: 27-19, 52-40, 80-57, 110-69
