SEA Games 2025: Nats barely get past gutsy Viets

Reigning champion Gilas Pilipinas shrugged off another slow start and survived a scare from winless Vietnam, 78-67, to barge into the Final Four of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball yesterday at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok. The Nationals had scary moments as they even trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and were still down by four, 37-41, at the half. But PBA stars Robert Bolick (185-G-1995) and Poy Erram brought them home in the second half. Bolick, who was loaned by NLEX for national duties, poured in 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter where Gilas outscored the Malaysians by 10 for the gritty win. A last-minute replacement to NCAA MVP Allen Liwag who went down with an injury, TNT Tropang 5G big man Erram topscored with 15 points including a booming triple in the last three minutes to cap a telling 9-0 Gilas run from 61-62 down. And thus the Nationals escaped blushes and completed a 2-0 sweep of Group A for an outright semifinal ticket. Gilas, which also drew help from Matthew Wright (193-G-1991, college: St.Bonaventure) (14) and Jamie Malonzo (198-F-1996) (10), will face the winner between Vietnam, the No. 3 seed in Group A, and the second seed behind unbeaten Thailand in Group B. “It was a hard-earned win. It was a very difficult game for us. We give credit to the Vietnam team for playing as well as they did. We struggled defensively again today, so it’s something we have to try to fix the next couple of days in practice,” said coach Norman Black, with his unit obviously still searching for form and chemistry. “Every game is a concern for us at this point. I think you know our situation so we’re basically learning and trying to improve on the basketball court in the tournament. Fortunately for us, the guys came up with the big plays in the stretch and we were able to get this win to move on in the tournament.” Gilas was still on the cliff at 61-62 early in the fourth but limited Vietnam to just five points the rest of the way to follow the steps of unbeaten Gilas women led by coach and program director Pat Aquino in the semifinals.
Courtesy of: philstar.com