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MANILA, Philippines — And it’s a twin coronation for Philippine basketball in Thailand.
The Gilas Pilipinas men and women replicated their feat six years ago but on the road this time after reigning supreme in the 33rd Southest Asian Games 5-on-5 last night before a jampacked crowd at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok.
The Filipinas took care of business first with a 73-70 escape act followed by the Filipinos’ dominant second half for a 70-64 triumph against the home teams.
Gilas first did the twin feat in 2019 at home, sweeping both divisions of the centerpiece tournaments to aid the country’s overall medal crown.
It’s a back-to-back title feat and 20th overall for the Gilas men after redemption in Cambodia, scoring 13 straight in 33 years before losing to Indonesia in 2021. The Gilas women netted its third in the last four editions.
But it wasn’t a walk in the park this time, especially for the hastily-formed wards of coach Norman Black who had to buck slow starts one after another – amid a short preparation due to the ineligibility of its original line-up and the unavailability of its main guns.
The Gilas men trailed by 13 points in the first half but its sheer talent was on full display behind the troika of Jamie Malonzo, Robert Bolick and Ray Parks Jr. in the second half, limiting Thailand after its hot start to complete a 4-0 sweep.
Still down at 29-38 at the turn, Malonzo led the second half surge and put away Thailand on a strong drive to give Gilas a 67-55 lead in the last four minutes.
The Thais, buoyed by homecourt edge, tried to unleash one last hurrah with a 9-1 blast in the last 47 seconds to strike within 64-68 only for Bolick to slam the door for Gilas’ yet another SEAG supremacy.
Earlier, Afril Bernardino led the way with a monstrous double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds laced by three steals, an assist and a block as Gilas women completed a sweet title redemption after surrending the throne to Indonesia two years ago in Phnom Penh.
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