MANILA (Philippines) - The Philippines repeated over India to close their first round campaign on a high note in Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Filipinos ran to a double-digit lead to end the first quarter, 21-10, and never looked back from there as they recorded their second win of the Asian Qualifiers at India's expense, 79-63.

Despite playing just ten men and being the shorter team, Gilas Pilipinas managed to outrebound India, 50-42. That's thanks mainly to the 11 rebounds of Shaun Geoffrey Chiu, the only Filipino standing taller than 6'7 in this match.

The Philippines' scoring cudgels, meanwhile, fell on Dwight Ramos, who finished with 21 points, 5 boards, and 4 steals. Kiefer Ravena also did well with a dozen points and 4 dimes, while William Navarro added 11 points of his own to lead the home team in front of an animated crowd.

Coach Veselin Matic was hoping India's size would pose much more of a problem for the Philippines, but the Indians were just too turnover-prone in this encounter. The visitors had 24 total turnovers that resulted in the Filipinos scoring 20 points off those errors. And despite their edge in size and length, India were -10 in inside scoring.

Sahaij Sekhon was the player who shone brightest for India with 12 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Muin Bek Hafeez top-scored for the losing side with 13 points of his own.

Both the Philippines ansd India join Group A leader New Zealand in advancing to the second round, where they will play the top three teams from Group C.

Interestingly enough, all three teams will face each other again in the coming FIBA Asia Cup 2022 as they're all part of the same group together with Lebanon.

FIBA