MANILA, Philippines — China showcased its might, size and firepower as it overwhelmed Gilas Pilipinas, 105-61 dethroning the Philippines in the process at the close of the 20th Asian Games men’s basketball group stage on Monday at the Aichi International Arena in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
The Chinese used their massive size advantage to dominate the boards and shoot easily from point blank, leading to a huge 66-30 halftime lead.
China remained relentless in the last two quarters, bloating its load to as high as 45 points several times.
While the Philippines managed to cut China’s lead to 78-40 after Sedrick Barefield led a mini Gilas, the Chinese pressed on from there, leading to a 3-0 record to lead Group C at the end of the group stage.
The Philippines ended the group stage with a solitary win in three games, having lost to Bahrain, 85-89 in its tournament debut last Friday.
Gilas’ lone win was a 109-78 rout of Kazakhstan.
Gilas entered the game needing to win outright against China, or lose by not more than 37 points.
But the Chinese’s sheer might on both ends of the floor clearly overwhelmed the undersized Filipinos, who entered the tournament without naturalized player Justin Brownlee, and their best players from FIBA tournament led by Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and Dwight Ramos.
The Philippines came into the game carrying a +27 point differential, and the best third-placed squad.
