ALLAN THE MAN

The Philippine national men’s basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, rode on a hot start for a rousing 88-58 victory in the quarterfinals of the FIBA Asia Championship 2013 on Friday.

With the victory, Gilas Pilipinas marched into the final four of the tournament, which serves as qualifier to the FIBA World Cup. The Philippines only needs to win one of its last two games to book its first appearance in the world basketball stage in four decades.

Buoyed by a rowdy crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena, Gilas began the game on fire, running out to a 12-3 advantage. With Gary David exploding off the bench for three quick three-pointers, the Philippines opened up a 32-13 spread right in the opening period.

But Kazakhstan weathered the storm, cutting the deficit to just six points, 44-38, in the second quarter. Gilas responded with a 7-2 spurt to take a 51-40 halftime edge.

The Kazakhs continued to threaten, coming within nine points, 56-47, with 3:58 remaining in the third period. But a three-pointer by Larry Fonacier sparked a 11-2 blast that broke the back of the Kazakhstan cause, as Gilas headed into the fourth quarter ahead, 67-49.

In the face of a furious Philippine run, the Kazakhs seemed to lose poise, with Dimitry Klimov committing consecutive unsportsmanlike fouls. That allowed Gilas to take its biggest lead of 31 points late in the contest.

David finished with 22 points, finally breaking out of his tournament-long shooting slump after making four of his six three-point attempts. Japeth Aguilar, a source of energy and hustle once again, added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Philippines, which never trailed in the game.

Gilas played magnificent defense, holding Kazakhstan’s top guns Jerry Johnson and Anton Ponomarev to just eight points apiece. As a team, Kazakhstan shot a woeful 31 percent from the field.

The Philippines, assured of at least matching its fourth-place finish in the tournament two years ago, will play either South Korea or Qatar in the semifinals on Saturday.

Philippines 88 - David 22, William 13, Aguilar 11, Norwood 10, Chan 7, De Ocampo 6, Pingris 6, Douthit 5, Fonacier 3, Tenorio 3, Alapag 2, Fajardo 0. 

Kazakhstan 58- Klimov 14, Ponomarev 8, Jonson 8, Yevstignetev 6, Lapchenko 5, Murzagalinev 5, Bondarovich 4, Zhigulin 3, Sultanov 3, Yargaliyev 2, Bazhkin 0. 

Quarters: 32-15, 51-40, 67-49, 88-58

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