Team Philippines outplays Kazakhstan for rousing Asian Games opener

Team Philippines overwhelmed the Kazakhstan national team, 96-59, at the

opener of the 2018 Asian Games held at the Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall in
Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday afternoon.
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The Pinoy cagers mounted a blistering 12-2 run in the first three minutes of the
game and dictated the tempo throughout the game.

Stanley Pringle, a first-time member of the national quintet, scattered 18 points to

lead the Filipinos in scoring.

James Yap, who last logged a national team tour of duty nine years ago, chimed in
12 more to help in the scoring effort.

PBA's top rookie pick in Christian Standhardinger displayed his vast arsenal as well,
accounting for 15 points of the team’s total harvest.

NBA cager Jordan Clarkson, whose spot was left open by head coach Yeng Guiao
days leading to the tournament, joined his teammates at the venue in the third
period after a connecting flight from Singapore. He is set to don the Philippine
tricolor in the game against the Chinese.

The Filipinos put themselves squarely on the driver’s seat through their defense
and hustle as they enjoyed an erratic shooting by their foes. Most telling was the
Filipinos’ defensive effort as they made the Kazakhs labor on their shooting and
second-chance points.

Kazakhstan, as a result, turned the ball over 22 times — a far cry to the Philippines’
nine. The former team was 41% from the field (13/32 shots), against the Pinoys’
59% (23/39).

Anton Bykov tried to keep his squad in the game with 13 points, as Dmitriy
Gavrilov and Rustam Yergali added nine and eight points, respectively. But all that
was put to naught as the Filipinos were already enjoying a cushion from the gritty
stand they mounted in the opening salvo.

The victory marks the third straight time the Philippines won over Kazakhstan in
the quadrennial meet. The last time was in Incheon in September 2014 when
Marcus Douthit was ordered to hit in the team's basket in a bid to chase quotient.

The Filipinos virtually booked a place in the next round of the skirmishes. They
take on China at 5 p.m. next Tuesday.