Gilas Pilipinas, bringing in an all-cadets crew to the Bahrain bubble, showed that it was ready for primetime in taking down an all-pro Thailand team, 93-61, Friday in the second window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers at Khalifa Sport City in Manama.
Dwight Ramos was a picture of perfection in his second go-round with the national team, making all of his seven shots from the field to rack up 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 19 minutes of play.
The Fil-Am swingman, who is yet to debut for Ateneo, was a key part in the Philippines' second quarter runout as he scored 11 of the 32 points in the frame as the youthful Gilas squad truly gave a glimpse of Philippine basketball's promising future.
Juan Gomez de Liano sparked the Filipinos' pullaway from a 26-all deadlock as he buried three triples that kickstarted 27-1 blast to grab a commanding 53-27 lead just before the halftime break.
That stretch, where Gomez de Liano scored 10 of his 12 points, was enough to secure Gilas' second win in as many games in Group A of the qualifiers.
The charismatic University of the Philippines guard shot 3-of-8 shooting from deep, to go with four boards, three assists, a steal, and a block.
Justine Baltazar, arguably the best center in the collegiate leagues today, also impressed in his national team debut with 12 points, six rebounds, and a block.
Gilas seeks to complete a sweep of the Manama bubble as it faces Thailand anew on Monday at 9 p.m. in the same venue.