HANOI—Young and energetic LeBron Lopez displayed court savvy anew on Tuesday night to lead the Philippine men’s team to a 100-32 rout of Cambodia in 31st Southeast Asian Games basketball action at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium.
Lopez soared to a team best 17 points, five rebounds and two blocks to help Gilas Pilipinas to its second straight victory.
There was no denying the Filipinos of the victory as the result was imminent in the first quarter alone where they led, 32-9.
Head coach Chot Reyes had all the time to use his younger players ahead of the more onerous games ahead.
“We actually didn’t think about the margin,” Reyes said. “We talked about making sure that we stay sharp and play at our level and respect the game. And that means respecting also respecting the opponents.”
Lopez, who turned 19th on Tuesday, delighted predominantly Filipino crowd with his array of dunks in the first half to all but erase the stigma of that close 76-73 win over Thailand on Sunday.
William Navarro had 16 points and seven rebounds and Jaydee Tungcab had 14 points and five steals for Gilas Pilipinas.
Matthew Wright scored 10 points on 2 of 3 from three-point territory, while Montalbo had eight points and five steals.
Singapore is up next for the Philippines on Wednesday.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes