Gilas Pilipinas defense on Jericho Cruz a key in 41-point blowout of Guam, says Scottie Thompson

A familiar face torched Gilas Pilipinas early in their game against Guam during the opening window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Friday, but the Filipinos quickly knew what adjustments were needed to overcome the hosts. 

Jericho Cruz, who often goes up against several Gilas members in the PBA, erupted for 15 points in the first half—including three three-pointers in the opening period—to keep world No. 81 Guam within striking distance of the No. 37 Filipinos.

And stopping Cruz was among the key factors pointed out by head coach Tim Cone during the halftime break as the visiting Philippines held on to a slim 40-29 lead. 

"He just said that we need to step up on our defense, especially on Jericho Cruz," Thompson shared in the post-game interview.

"He’s been playing really well in the first half so we played as a team defensively. I think that’s the key."

That proved to be the key as Gilas eventually flipped the switch on both defense and offense in the second half to pull off a dominant 87-46 victory led by Justin Brownlee's 22-point outing. 

"Back home, these guys play on rival teams and they play against each other all the time so it was nothing new for Scottie to go against him," Cone added.

"Like I said, it’s always a great motivation to be in that kind of game."

The Philippines now hopes to carry over this momentum as it's now Gilas Pilipinas' turn to host Guam on Monday as the Filipinos seek a 2-0 start in Group A. 

"That’s the big thing about home-and-away, you’ve gotta follow it up and if you look at the score, we’re gonna look at ourselves and have that opportunity to relax and not really come out the second time around," Cone said.

"But hopefully, we’re gonna have the home crowd that will get us pumped up. We love our basketball, everybody knows and we’re gonna have a big sellout whenever Gilas plays. We don’t play at home very often so we knew everybody’s excited to watch it."

—JKC, GMA Integrated News