MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas defeated Kazakhstan 109-78 Saturday to keep its quarterfinal hopes alive in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men’s basketball 5-on-5 competition.
Jerrick Ahanmisi led the Philippines with 22 points after making seven 3-pointers, while Robert Bolick scored 20 points despite entering the game as a game-time decision because of a knee injury.
Bolick scored 13 points in the second half as Gilas pulled away from Kazakhstan. The Philippines also used a strong fourth-quarter shooting performance to secure its first victory in Group C.
The win improved Gilas to 1-1 after its 69-65 loss to Bahrain on Friday in its title defense.
Calvin Oftana added 12 points, while Sedrick Barefield contributed 11 points, four rebounds and five assists. Zavier Lucero finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Gilas also improved its position in the race for two of the three best third-place spots across the tournament’s groups. The Philippines moved level with Iran in Group B and ahead of Saudi Arabia in Group A, which dropped to 0-2.
China leads Group C at 2-0 after beating Bahrain 105-59 earlier Saturday.
The Philippines will face China next in a game that could determine its path out of the group stage.