Gilas Pilipinas Boys rout Malaysia by 76 to reach SEABA Qualifiers finals, secure Asia Cup berth

A wild 17-0 opening run set the tone as the Gilas Pilipinas Youth Men overwhelmed Malaysia, cruising to a dominant 130-54 victory in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers semifinals on Saturday at the Chan Ka Pho Gymnasium in Thailand.

With the emphatic win, the Gilas Boys secured spots in both the championship game and the FIBA U18 Asia Cup proper, which will be held in India this August.

JB Cagurungan led the charge anew by dropping a team-high 26 points off the bench while 6-foot-6 big man Prince Cariño posted 21 markers alongside four rebounds and one assist as Gilas maintained its spotless run so far in the qualifiers.

Joaquin Tovera and Louis Razon chipped in 15 and 14 markers each as Ethan Aguas churned out 12 points, eight boards, and three dimes.

Aguas and Andrew Chio fueled Gilas' blistering 17-0 start in the opening frame before Cagurungan completed a layup to end the period and allow the national team enjoy a 32-11 lead.

A Tovera triple late in the second period had Gilas enjoying a massive 30-point advantage at 53-23 as the Philippines headed to the dugout break carrying a 58-26 edge. During that first half, the Malaysians only shot 10 of their 40 attempts from the field.

The youthful Filipino cagers never looked back since then as Cagurungan fired back-to-back triples in the third for a 75-30 lead while Tovera's three-pointer stretched that to 91-37 en route to the 76-point triumph.

Kuan Yit Lim was the only player from Malaysia to reach double-digit scoring after finishing with 10 while Kenwen Lee and Jing Hao Tee chipped in eight and seven markers each.

Gilas Pilipinas Youth will face either Indonesia or Thailand in the finals. Regardless of the outcome of the championship match, the young Filipinos have already secured a berth in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, with Southeast Asia allotted two slots for the continental tournament.

—JKC, GMA News