Gilas Cadets advances to SEA Games basketball finals

28th SEA Games Singapore 2015 – OCBC Arena Hall 1 – Singapore – 14/6/15
Basketball – Men’s Semifinal – Philippines’ Almond Vosotros (L) in action with Thailand’s Wutipong Dasom (Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee/Action Images via Reuters)

Sinag Pilipinas gets a spot at the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games men’s basketball finals, finishing off the semifinals with Kiefer Ravena scoring three points with just 16.2 seconds left in the game.

The game ended with an 80-75, favoring the Philippines against Thailand at the OCBC Arena.

Troy Rosario and Almond Vosotros also paved the way to the gold-medal trip on Monday, with three-point shots erasing Thailand’s double-digit lead from the first quarter.

“We’re used to handling pressure in the UAAP. I just want to go out there and win,’’ Ravena said.

The first quarter ended with 14-22, with an 11-point deficit to the Gilas Cadets. The team came back up in the next quarter after Vosotros’ three-pointers in the second half. He then continued puncturing the hoops in the third period.

In total, Rosario garnered 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field and 12 rebounds and Vosotros got 18 points.

Sinag Pilipinas is then set to face the winner of the Singapore-Indonesian semifinals match on Sunday night.

Though the team made it to the finals, head coach Tab Baldwin was unhappy with the game.

“We fought against a professional team and the countries in Southeast Asia are improving because of the ABL (Asean Basketball League) where this team has been playing,” Baldwin said. “We expect the same difficult situation if ever we play Singapore in the finals.”

Singapore had also won on its match with Thailand the other night.

Scores

Philippines 80 – Rosario 27, Vosotros 18, Ravena 12, Ferrer 7, Khobuntin 5, Douthit 4, Belo 4, Amer 3, Thompson 0, Jalalon 0, Torres 0, Rivero 0.

Thailand 75 – Muangboon 15, Kruatiwa 15, Dasom 12, Apiromvilaichai 11, Ghogar 9, Samerjai 7, Chanthachon 4, Kongkum 2, Lertmalaiporn 0.