LA Tenorio and Gilas Youth in the Fiba Asia  U16 Cup Seaba Qualifiers. –SBP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Youth scored one of the most lopsided wins of the U16 Fiba Asia Cup Seaba Qualifiers on Wednesday night, thanks in large part to the efforts of Gab Delos Reyes.

The Philippines demolished Singapore, 101-37, at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center, with a unified effort on the defensive end.

Coach LA Tenorio credited a particular young gun for setting the tone defensively.

“It’s great to have a player like Gab because he works hard on defense,” said Tenorio. “We need all our players to have this mentality because all of them can score, but there are other things that we also need to pay attention to.”

Delos Reyes came off the bench and played just 22 minutes, but he made the most of his time, delivering a monster all-around performance: seven points, 13 rebounds, seven blocks, six assists, and a steal.

His energy on defense sparked the rest of the squad, as Gilas Youth tallied 14 steals and nine blocks in the blowout win that improved their record to 3-0.

“I think this was our best defensive game,” said Tenorio. “We were not needlessly gambling for steals. We were more disciplined, and it showed with our best performance so far.”

The Philippines’ swarming defense stifled Singapore, which managed just 19 percent shooting from the field.

Gilas Youth hopes to carry that same defensive mindset when it faces fellow unbeaten squad Indonesia on Wednesday.