Gilas Pilipinas' Jayson Castro barrels his way between two Hong Kong defenders in Thursday's game in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship at the Changsha Social Work College's Gymnasium in Changsa, China. Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette
MANILA — Following a humiliating loss to Palestine, Gilas Pilipinas vented its fury on Hong Kong with a confidence-regaining 101-50 victory in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsa, China, Thursday. The Filipinos opened with a 12-0 run, never relaxing and never looking back en route to their first win in the biennial tournament where the main prize is the lone Asian ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics. After firing blanks in the game against Palestine, Gilas' long-range gunners finally hit their marks with Jayson Castro banging in five three-pointers and Dondon Hontiveros drilling four more triples. Castro finished with a team-high 21 points on top of five rebounds and two assists while Hontiveros posted 14 markers. Naturalized center Andray Blatche had the luxury of having an extended rest for the harder grind ahead, playing for less than 18 minutes and contributing 17 points. The team's leading scorer Terrence Romeo added 11 points while Ranidel de Ocampo started in place of Marc Pingris, scoring 10 points and grabbing eight boards. Overall, Gilas shot 14 of 34 triples for a respectable 41.2 percent clip. The Filipinos also converted 21 of 42 shots on two-point baskets (50 percent) while dominating the boards, 62-38. Hong Kong was led by Siu Wing Chan who scored 13 points while Duncan Reid had 11. Gilas led 51-22 at halftime. With their second half meltdown against Palestine still clearly etched in their minds, the Filipinos this time continued pounding a totally beaten Hong Kong team up to the final buzzer. In other action Thursday: Iran beat India 88-66; Japan thrashed Malaysia 119-48; Kazakhstan edged Chinese Taipei 84-73; Palestine beat Kuwait 90-69; and China edged South Korea 76-73. Gilas Pilipinas will tangle with Kuwait Friday to finish its Group B assignments. The Filipinos expect another walk in the park against Kuwait, which lost to Hong Kong, 50-87, Wednesday. In two late night matches Wednesday Lebanon beat Chinese Taipei 92-87 and Qatar edged Kazakhstan 79-75.
