Gilas Pilipinas' Terrence Romeo blows past an Indian defender on a drive to the basket in Tuesday's FIBA Asia Championship game at the Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium in Changsa, China. Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette
MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas roared to their fifth straight win, overpowering India, 99-65, Tuesday to secure the top spot in Group E heading into the quarterfinals of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship Thursday. The Filipinos had a slow start and even trailed by five points in the first quarter before unleashing their full might against the bewildered Indians on the final day of the second round of the tournament at the Changsha Social Work College Gymnasium in Changsa, China. The Gilas boys would be pitted against the No. 4 team of Group F in the knockout quarterfinals, which would either be Lebanon or Jordan. Terrence Romeo spearheaded the Gilas offense against India, pouring on 20 points on top of four assists and three steals off the bench. Five other Gilas players posted double-digit scores, with Andray Blatche banging in 15 points, Ranidel De Ocampo with 13 markers and Jayson Castro, Calvin Abueva and Marc Pingris chipping in with 12 apiece. Despite the loss, India (2-3) is also heading into the quarterfinals as the fourth seed of Group E. The Iranians, still smarting from the loss inflicted by the Filipinos a day earlier, gave India the last ticket to the next round after blasting Palestine, 94-48, knocking out the FIBA first-timer from the Top 8. Palestine also finished with a 2-3 win-loss card like India, but the latter gets the fourth seed since it owns a victory over Palestine. Iran (4-1) finds itself as the second seed in Group E, while Japan (3-2) gets the third seed after beating win-less Hong Kong (0-5), 89-62, earlier Tuesday. After a huge upset of the erstwhile undefeated defending champion Iran a day earlier, the Filipinos appeared to be still on Cloud 9 Tuesday as the Indians engaged them in a fierce fight in the first half. Indian stars Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Amjyot Singh waxed hot, scoring 13 and 11 points, respectively, answering the Gilas barrage with their own. However, Romeo and De Ocampo found their groove, and started hitting their shots as the Filipinos took a 42-36 halftime lead. The Filipinos employed a crippling full-court press in the second half that proved to be the key to India's collapse. Not known to be a heavy scorer, Pingris showed he could be an offensive threat, too, firing eight straight points on his patented one-handers as Gilas began pulling away, 65-50, entering the fourth quarter. The Indians made their last stand early in the final quarter, cutting the Filipinos' lead to eight, 66-58, after an 8-1 run. But the Gilas went on a devastating 25-2 run capped by a magnificent alley-oop by Matt Ganuelas Rosser off a feed by Romeo. With Gilas ahead 91-60, India emptied its bench as the Filipinos once again emerged triumphant. The teams take a break Wednesday before Thursday's quarterfinals.
