Stanley Pringle and Matthew Wright spearheaded Gilas Pilipinas' blazing debut in the Southeast Asian Games, a 110-58 drubbing of Singapore on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Pringle dropped 11 of his 14 points in the opening frame, while Wright went 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc as Gilas jumped off to a 30-13 lead.
Facing a team that didn't have the depth to match up with Gilas, coach Tim Cone had the luxury of shuffling his roster with first-time national players Chris Ross and Vic Manuel getting some minutes.
"It's fun coaching such a powerhouse team, no doubt about it. But I don't think we played our best basketball tonight," Cone said. "We're a little bit herky-jerky and we're not smooth offensively. We had to make adjustments defensively at halftime, but I believe we'll get better and better as the games go along."
Cone said he was proud everyone played hard on defense.
"You can see the display of talent out there on the floor. Guys can shoot it, guys can push the ball down the floor, but what we're most proud about is the first play of the game when Chris Ross blocked the shot of Wong (Wei Long) because he's Singapore's star player," Cone said. "Right off the bat, we're gonna play defense against you. And so I hope we can sustain our defense and improve it as we go along."
The 6-foot-1 Ross, a member of the PBA All-Defensive team the last four seasons, didn't disappoint, contributing all-around numbers of 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and a block. The 34-year-old Fil-American guard didn't even bother to score, attempting just one 3-point shot, which he missed.
Manuel also had a decent debut in Gilas uniform as he chipped in 14 points off the bench.
"He is the Muscleman and he displayed that tonight because he's not just a banger, but he can get inside and create space for himself," Cone said of Manuel. "He can step out, has a feathery jump shot and he's versatile because he can guard different types of players."
Cone added that Manuel is a perfect fit for the team because of his skill set.
"I think he'll be good at any level, but I think he's especially good at this level because he's a superstar in the PBA in his own right. And in this level, I think we can use his versatility. He showed that tonight."
Greg Slaughter, a last-minute replacement for injured shooter Roger Pogoy, had 9 points and 8 rebounds for Gilas.
Gilas will take a one-day break before returning to action on Friday against Vietnam. The Filipinos close their single-round eliminations assignment against Myanmar on Saturday.
Meantime, Thailand spoiled the SEA Games coaching debut of Rajko Toroman. Thailand cruised past Indonesia, 98-76. Thai veteran guard Wattana Suttisin led the way with 18 points, while Thai-American Tyler Lamb added a complete game of 16 points, 8 steals, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in their wire-to-wire win.
Indonesia was without Lester Prosper who failed to get his naturalization papers set in time for the biennial games. Indonesia, silver medalist in the last two SEA Games staging fell behind early, 17-34 and shot just 35 percent in the game.
Vietnam flexed its muscles early to pulverize Myanmar, 131-52 earlier in the day.
In women's play, Thailand shocked defending two-time champion Malaysia, 70-47.
EXTRA DRIBBLES
Cone returned to international coaching for the first time since he led the Philippine Centennial team to a bronze medal finish in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Gilas shot a high 58.7 percent from the field, dominated the boards, 52-35 against Singapore and enjoyed a 38-12 advantage in assists.
Singapore's big man Vlavin Raj was an instant fan favorite by the Filipino crowd. Every time Raj touched the ball or would go for a shot, the crowd would cheer.
THE SCORES
GILAS PILIPINAS 110- Rosario 15, Pringle 14, Manuel 14, Wright 13, Fajardo 12, Aguilar 9, Slaughter 9, Standhardinger 8, Lassiter 7, Ravena 6, Tenorio 3, Ross 0
SINGAPORE - W. Kwek 10, Z. Wong 8, Q. Toh8, W. Wong 8, W. L. Wong 6, K. Lim 6, K. Goh,, V. Lavin Raj, 5, V. Rengarajan 4, L. Liew 3, X. Han 0, C. Tan 0