Gilas routs Taiwan by 53, sweeps FIBA ACQ first window

MANILA, Philippines: Gilas Pilipinas played unforgiving defense and near flawless offense from the get go to run rough shod over the visiting Taiwan side, 106-53 en route to a two-game sweep of the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers on Sunday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Naturalized player Justin Brownlee and Kai Sotto set the tone on both ends of the floor for the national side, joining hands in providing the spark for Gilas now under coach Tim Cone.

Gilas routs Taiwan by 53, sweeps FIBA ACQ first window

The Filipinos actually zoomed to a comfortable 52-27 halftime lead behind the sniping of Brownlee and inside foray of the 7-foot-3 Sotto.

Cone’s charges showed no letting their guards down as Gilas outscored Taiwan, 54-26 in the final half en route to a massive 53-point victory.

Brownlee led Gilas with 26 points, Sotto added 18, while Calvin Oftana and Dwight Ramos chipped in 13 and 12.

Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao were the other double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 in a balanced scoring attack.

Gilas’ offense demonstrated efficiency after shooting 55 percent from the floor, while dominating the boards, 57-29.

Defensively, the Philippines held Taiwan to just 29 percent shooting with veteran gunner Liu Cheng held down to just 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the floor.

The win was a massive follow up to its 94-64 rout of Hong Kong last Thursday.

Taiwan fell to 0-2 in Group B after opening the the first window with a 69-89 beating at the hands of New Zealand.