Philippines reaches finals of SEAG basketball


MANILA, Philippines – Sinag Pilipinas reached the gold medal round in the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) men’s basketball by beating Malaysia, 103-74, in the semis held at the Britama Arena in Indonesia.

The Filipino dribblers slipped away in the fourth quarter after figuring in 3 closely-fought quarters against the Malaysians.

Sinag Pilipinas, led by mainstays Keifer Ravena, Greg Slaughter and Cliford Hodge, only led by an average of 4 points against Malaysia in the first 3 quarters, 23-19, 44-41 and 49-44.

But RR Garcia started hitting his mark in the fourth quarter to spark Sinag Pilipinas’ breakaway from Malaysia.

Slaughter topscored for the Philippines with 16 points. Hodge added 12, while Garcia chipped in 11.

The Philippines will next face the winner between semifinalists Indonesia and Thailand.

Sinag Pilipinas remains undefeated in 4 games.

The Filipinos first beat Cambodia (127-68) and then Vietnam (107-53).

They closed out the eliminations with a 103-69 win over Thailand.

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