Thanks to Balti’s spotless game, Gilas mauls Saudi Arabia to get first win in King Abdullah Cup

The Philippines get its campaign at the 10^th King Abdullah Cup back on track in Amman, where they put down an overmatched Saudi Arabia side, 77-62 Tuesday afternoon (evening Manila time).

It was a massive improvement for coach Tab Baldwin and his youthful Gilas from their Monday letdown in the Jordanian capital, with a wire-to-wire win in which they win in every statistical category except for points in the paint to go 1-1 in the six-team, five-nation tournament.

Both teams head into the contest from their opening day defeats, with the Filipinos fell flat against Egypt, while the Saudis were beaten comprehensively by the host nation’s A-team that featured veteran Zaid Abbas and Fenerbahce’s Ahmad Al-Dwairi (also known as Ahmet Duverioglu).

Coming off the bench, forward Justine Baltazar pitched in a perfect game of 16 points, hitting all of his five shots from the field, four of which came from beyond the arc and added four assists and three dimes to his line.

The La Salle stalwart’s immaculate showing was part of the 43-point production from its second unit, with Isaac Go added 10 and Dave Ildefonso pitched in 8 as they outscored the Saudi bench by 17 in the process.

A huge part of their bounce-back win was their shooting, with Gilas hit 41% from the field overall, including 12/28 in three-point shooting for 42% which was a far cry from their horror show against the Egyptians when they hit just a measly 4/27 (14%).

In contrast to their 10/29 clip from yesterday, the Filipinos improved their foul shooting immensely should they get a shot in making it to the knockout phase, only missing just three of their 14 attempts.

More so, Gilas pounced their more experienced victims their ball-carrying pressure defense, converting 16 Saudi turnovers into 22 points.

Center Mohammad Al-Suwailem had 18 markers for Saudi Arabia that featured five holdovers from their 2013 FIBA Asia Championship squad that faced the Philippines, including fellow slot man Mohammad Al-Marwani.

From the opening tip, the Filipinos were on a tear that took the Saudis by surprise. Save for the 14-all deadlock in the first period, Gilas were just simply too much for the West Asians to handle in a dominating fashion.

Gilas was just too strong despite a 10-0 Saudi blitz that halved the game’s biggest lead at 20, in which they kept their cool even with a late-game mini-fracas.

A hot-headed Nassir Abo-Jalas was slapped with a technical foul with 2:07 remaining after charging at RJ Abarrientos, with the former fell down hard on the floor after being fouled by Thirdy Ravena who attempted to block the Saudi veteran.

The scores:

PHILIPPINES 77 – Baltazar 16, Kouame 10, Go 10, Ildefonso 8, Ramos 7, Ravena 6, Heading 6, Tamayo 5, Abarrientos 3, Navarro 3, Chiu 2, Belangel 1, Suerte 0, Mike Nieto 0

SAUDI ARABIA 61 – Al-Suwailem 18, Abdel Gabar 12, Abo-Jalas 10, Kadi 8, Shubayli 5, Ma Al-Marwani 2, Al-Bargawi 2, Mo Al-Marwani 2, Al-Hosawe 2, Belal 1, Al-Sager 0, Al-Thalabi 0, Brnawi 0

Quarter scores: 19-14, 43-30, 65-49, 77-62

FILE PHOTO: FIBA