INCHEON, South Korea – A day after coming to embattled Gilas coach Chot Reyes' defense, Ranidel de Ocampo made sure they won't suffer further humiliation as his near triple-double led Gilas Pilipinas to a 84-68 thrashing of Mongolia on Wednesday at the Hwaseong Gymnasium here in the 17th Asian Games.
De Ocampo finished with 25 points on top of 11 rebounds and seven assists plus two steals as Gilas salvaged the 7th place.
After allowing Mongolia to seize the lead, 21-18, in the opening quarter, Gilas stepped up on defense and limited the Mongolians to just eight points in the second canto.
Gilas never looked back and rip the game wide open in the fourth.
De Ocampo looked unstoppable as he knocked in 12 of 15 shots even as June Mar Fajardo dished out a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds as Reyes used Marcus Douthit sparingly.
Douthit grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists but went scoreless in almost eight minutes on the floor.
Gabe Norwood and LA Tenorio also tallied 11 apiece while Jeff Chan and Gary David each had eight points.
Big man Bilguun Battuvshin led Mongolia with 18 points as they wound up at eight place, easily their best finish in the Asian Games basketball.