Gilas Pilipinas def Malaysia, 94-49 [2023 SEA Games | May 9, 2023]

Gilas Pilipinas cruised past Malaysia, 94-49, to kick off on a high note its bid to regain the gold in the Southeast Asian Games on Tuesday at the Morodok Techo Stadium Elephant Hall 2 in Cambodia.

The Filipinos got off to a fast start and never let up against the Malaysians after a 33-12 lead to finish the opening period.

The lead ballooned to as much as 50 points as Gilas relied on a balanced scoring in securing its first win in the tournament.

Big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser lead the charge for Gilas with 15 points and five rebounds while naturalized player Justin Brownlee coasted along for 11 points and four rebounds in his SEA Gamea debut.

Arvin Tolentino added 10 points, while collegiate player Michael Philips made his presence felt in his national team debut with 15 rebounds and nine points.

Calvin Oftana strained a calf muscle, forcing coach Chot Reyes to sit him for the entire second half.

Gilas outrebounded Malaysia, 62-47, shot better from.the field (46 percent to 25 percent of Malaysia), but was only 10-of-37 from three-point range (27 percent).