Breaking down Gilas’ win vs Kazakhstan

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas formalized its entry in the semifinals after blasting a tough Kazakh side, 88-58. The score, however, doesn’t really reflect the competitiveness and physicality of the game. Case in point: Dimo Klimov was thrown out of the playing area after incurring his second technical foul.

Gilas shot well from the field in this encounter, with the guys connecting on nearly half of their attempts. Of course, it also helped that Gilas made THIRTEEN triples. The home team dominated most stat categories — +5 in rebounds, +10 in assists, and +6 in blocks. 

Kazakhstan, meanwhile, struggled mightily with its shot , as most of the guys misfired, sometimes even when given easy looks. The Central Asia powerhouse team also continued to get inconsistent performance from its stars, in particular Anton Ponomarev, who may have been a legit NBA prospect once, but right now he hasn’t had much to show for. 

David finally catches fire

Other big keys were the contributions of Gary David and Japeth Aguilar. David finally caught fire, scoring 22 points in just 17 minutes of play. He connected on 4 triples. Aguilar, too, was solid, scoring 11 points, grabbing 9  rebounds, and blocking two shots.

Also, because Japeth played so well, coach Chot could afford to rest Marcus Douhit. Obviously, Douthit plays heavy minutes for Gilas, but it’s clear that being rested and fresh is really important for a team like this.

I also liked the fact that Gilas could handle the Kazakhs’ physicality. Heck, even June Mar Fajardo was able to throw in some hits of his own.

If the Philippines can continue shooting like this for two more days, we can beat Korea, and then probably Iran.

It’s not over yet, folks! Our Gilas Pilipinas boys are just 2 wins away from the ticket to Madrid. Let’s come out in FULL FORCE tomorrow! Wear white! – Rappler.com