Gilas Pilipinas demolishes Singapore to keep undefeated streak alive

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After a slow start against Thailand, the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team finally found their form after crushing Singapore, 88-37, to continue their perfect 2022 Southeast Asian games record.

Gilas is coming off a dominating 68-point win against Cambodia and finally found their form in the three-point shooting department, a thing they struggled with during their close game against Thailand.

RR Pogoy stepped up for the national team and chipped in a game-high 19-point production with three huge steals.

This is a welcome development for the TNT Tropang Giga star shooting guard after failing to find his shooting stroke against Thailand and Cambodia where he only scored a total of 10 points in the first two games.

This time against Singapore Pogoy was lights out shooting the ball and showed his wide array of offensive moves including his defensive tenacity.

The Philippines also banked on their impressive help and rim defense and never gave the Singaporeans easy looks at the baskets each time they decided to attack the rim.

June Mar Fajardo, Moala Tautuaa, and Troy Rosario anchored the paint for Gilas which forced Singapore to rely mostly on their three-point shooting to put up points on the board.

Gilas teen sensation and former Ateneo Blue Eagles swingman LeBron Lopez continued his stellar performance and backstopped Pogoy with 18 points.

Lopez became a revelation since their game against Cambodia after scoring 17 points in his first game as a senior player for Gilas in the SEA Games.

The high-flying forward also stood out in the game after going for a perfect 7/7 from the field and dazzled the crowd in Hanoi, Vietnam with his jaw-dropping slams.

It was a collective team effort from Gilas as the rest of the guys led by Matthew Wright also contributed in the scoring column.

The Philippines is seeking to maintain its unblemished record in the 2022 SEA Games and will also gun for its 19^th gold medal overall.