Gilas Pilipinas Youth kicked off its campaign at the FIBA U16 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers in a sizzling fashion, thrashing Vietnam with a 113-62 win on Saturday at the Bren Z. Guiao Sports Complex in Pampanga.
Travis Pascual and Jolo Pascual led the onslaught as the Filipinos cruised to a 1-0 start while the visiting Vietnamese squad fell to 0-1.
5-foot-9 Travis Pascual sparked off the bench with 16 points together with four rebounds, four steals, and one assist while the 6-foot-1 Jolo Pascual chipped in 14 markers, three boards, four dimes, three steals, and one block.
Gilas turned a slim 29-20 first quarter lead to a sizable 61-33 cushion by halftime, thanks to a 32-point explosion led by the Pascual duo as they pulled away for good.
Prince Cariño was also an unstoppable force after finishing with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds while Jhustin Hallare and Jhello Lumague chimed in with 10 markers apiece.
Hoang Minh Khang Nguyen paced Vietnam with 13 points while Le Cao Nguyen Nguyen and Khoa Aidan Vo added 12 and 10 markers respectively in the 51-point loss.
The LA Tenorio-helmed Gilas youth will target a hot 2-0 start when it takes on Thailand on Sunday.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News