Smart-Gilas rips Malaysian 5 in SEABA

(abs-cbnNEWS) – Smart-Gilas Pilipinas dominated Malaysia, 97-71, in the opening round of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Despite having an injury-depleted line-up, the Nationals were still able to overpower the smaller but faster Malaysians at the Britama Arena Sports Mall.

Naturalized citizen Marcus Douthit led Gilas with a double-double performance as he registered 14 points and 15 rebounds. He also added 3 blocks to complete his all-around effort for the Nationals.

JV Casio top scored Gilas with 19 points while Japeth Aguilar added 18 more.

Malaysia outpaced Gilas in the first half, especially in the second quarter where they scored 21 against the Philippines' 16.

The Nationals, however, became dominant inside the paint in the second half, forcing the Malaysians to rely on outside shooting.

Malaysia eventually lost steam in the fourth quarter where they were limited to just 14 points.

Malaysia’s Yeow Loong Ho finished with 11 points while See Fai Lo tallied 9 markers.

The Nationals will next face Indonesia on Friday before wrapping it the eliminations against Singapore on Saturday.

The top 2 teams to come out of the eliminations will dispute the SEABA crown.

Gilas needs only 2 wins to secure a berth in the FIBA-Asia Championship slated on September 11 to 25.

The FIBA-Asia meet is the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics.