Gilas throws out Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR – The Philippines relived its old rivalry with Malaysia long shelved in memory bank with the emergence of new contenders in the Southeast Asian Games as it fashioned out a 98-66 rout to clinch the top semifinal seeding in their group in the 29th SEAG at the MABA Stadium here last night.

The Gilas cadets found a scrappy host team in the early going that brought to mind their seething rivalry in the late 90s, particularly when a commotion and a near-brawl broke out in the third quarter involving Kevin Ferrer and Malaysian center Kuek Tian Yuan that led to the ejections of Carl Bryan Cruz and Baser Amer.

For nearly 15 minutes of the first half, the Filipinos couldn’t shake off the host team which was lustily cheered on by the home crowd. But the Gilas cadets methodically pulled away behind Christian Standhardinger and Kobe Paras to seize the initiative for good on their way to the semifinals most probably against Singapore.

Team Phl thus repeated its mighty conquest of Malaysia in 2001, 12 years after the Nationals’ suffered a big defeat here at the hands of the hosts.

The loss, on the other hand, booted the Malaysians out of the medal race in the highly anticipated match that drew an overflow crowd. Thousands more were not accommodated.

The Malaysians, waving mini Malaysian flags, came in droves hoping for an upset but they were simply overwhelmed by the technically-superior Gilas squad.

The host team and Gilas nearly came to blows after Ferrer and Yuan’s hands got entangled as shoving and pushing ensued, ejecting players not involved in the melee.

 “Malinis ang konsensya ko (My conscience is clear). I don’t have an idea why I was thrown out,” said Cruz.

Amer entered the fray, got shoved and was tossed out of the game.

“The refs said they caught them shoving,” said Gilas assistant coach Jimmy Alapag.

The Philippines and Malaysia had figured in rumbles during a game in the past, the most memorable the one that happened right in front of then President Ferdinand Marcos in 1981 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Both the Gilas cadets and the Malaysians kept their emotions in check, though, and the Filipinos went on to complete a rout of the hosts and a sweep of Group A plays.

Thailand grabbed the second semis berth in the group.

Standhardinger continued to buck inroads of fatigue, coming through with 18 points and the same number of rebounds.

Paras, the fans’ favorite, made a dazzling show for the second straight game, delivering 16 markers and eight boards.

Troy Rosario and Kiefer Ravena did their jobs without fanfare, both firing away 12 points.

The scores:

Philippines 98 – Standhardinger 18, Paras 16, Ravena 12, Rosario 12, Amer 10, Vosotros 6, Ferrer 6, Tolomia 5, Jose 4, Pessumal 4, Cruz 3, Parks 2.

Malaysia 66 – Kuek 14, Ting 10, Teo 9, Wong 8, Chee 7, Yeo 7,  Loh 5, Lim 4, Ma 2, Wong 0, Soo 0.

Quarterscores: 18-20, 47-35, 73-46, 98-66