The Philippine national men’s basketball team retained its throne in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games after a 94-55 rout of Indonesia in the championship game on Saturday night at MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
It was the 17th gold medal and 12th straight for the Philippines in the basketball event of the biennial games.
To achieve the feat, Gilas Pilipinas swept all of its five games. While it wasn’t able to dominate them all, especially in close calls against Thailand and Singapore, the Filipinos saved their best game for last against Indonesia.
Gilas Pilipinas had a tough fight with the Indonesians in the first quarter, even trailing 14-12 at one point.
But that was the last time the Filipinos got a scare. Floodgates opened in the second quarter after an 11-2 run in the second quarter put them on top, 30-17.
It was all Gilas Pilipinas since then, with the Filipinos’ lead ballooning to as big as 39 points.
Tolomia top-scored for the Philippines with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists as his three three-pointers in the second period allowed Gilas Pilipinas to break loose.
Kobe Paras, who put on a show in the second half with his devastating dunks, scored 14 points.
Raymar Jose added 12 points while Christian Standhardinger made 11 markers for the Filipinos.
