DWIGHT RAMOS erupted with 21 points laced with nine rebounds and four steals as a 10-man national men’s squad routed India, 79-63, in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup Asia qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday night.
But Gilas Pilipinas also had to thank India for committing a horrendous 24 turnovers in notching their second win in four games in the third window of the qualifiers for next year’s Fiba World Cup the country is co-hosting with Jakarta and Tokyo.
With India failing to get its act together, the Filipinos took control and led by as many as 48-24 early in the third quarter.
They were never threatened after that to book the lopsided win that sent Gilas to the second round with Group A leader New Zealand (4-0). They will face the top three teams from Group C—Lebanon (4-1), Saudi Arabia (3-2) and Jordan (3-2)—in new Group E bracket.
Kiefer Ravena added 12 points and four assists with two steals while William Navarro had 11 points.
Carl Tamayo missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds in the match that sent India to a 0-4 card.
The victory also allowed the Filipinos to bounce back from a forgettable 60-106 defeat to New Zealand last Thursday in Auckland.
Muin Bek Hafeez had 13 points, three rebounds and two steals for India.
The second round will be played in November.