Gilas Pilipinas eyes 2nd win vs dangerous Thailand

Gilas Pilipinas shoots for a second straight win as it tries to inch closer to an outright spot in the knockout quarterfinals when the Filipinos take on Thailand on Thursday, September 28, in the group play of the 19th Asian Games men's basketball in Hangzhou, China.

The Filipinos, mentored by interim coach Tim Cone, had an explosive debut in the 5×5 competition after blasting the Wayne Chism-led Bahrain squad, 89-61.

They will look to build on that 28-point win when they tangle with the Thais, the Filipinos' traditional Southeast Asian basketball rivals at 11 a.m.

CJ Perez, one of five recent replacements, helped engineer Gilas' swashbuckling offense after finishing with 15, going 4-of-5 from two-point zone, to go along with two steals, two rebounds and the same number of assists

The Philippines' pair of naturalized players Ange Kouame and Justin Brownlee also flexed their muscles against Bahrain, which had no answer to Gilas' fluid offense and razor-sharp defense.

June Mar Fajardo (right) CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The 6-foot-10 Kouame also scored 15 points, while pulling down seven rebounds. Brownlee added 14 and 10 boards in a double-double effort.

Gilas will be facing a Thailand side that saw its Asian Games campaign get off to a rough start after absorbing a 97-63 beating at the hands of the Rondae Hollis-Jefferson-led Jordan side on opening day last Tuesday.

Tyler Lamb and Freddie Lish, the pair of veterans for Thailand, scored 11 and 13 points, respectively. But the two explosive Thai stars shot a horrible 9-of-33 from the floor overall.

The Philippines and Thailand didn't cross path in the 2023 SEA Games men's basketball last May.

The last meeting between these two rivals was during the 2022 SEA Games edition in Vietnam where the Philippines had to overhaul an early 10-point deficit to nose out Thailand, 76-73 in the group stage.

Cone's only meeting with Thailand though was during the 2019 SEA Games in Manila where Gilas mangled the Thais, 118-81 en route to retaining the gold medal.

A win by Gilas will be a good momentum builder as the Philippines closes its Group C play against title favorite Jordan on Saturday.

Tournament format calls for each team to play one game against its group mates, with the top team advancing outright to the knockout quarterfinals. The No. 2 and No. 3 teams of each group face the No. 3 and No. 2 teams, respectively, from another group, with the winners also moving to the quarterfinals.