Gilas Youth made their presence be felt quickly, eking out a 25-9 opening-quarter assault capped by early three-point bombs to create the sizeable margin en route to the team’s first win to tie with Japan at the top of Group C with a 1-0 card.

The Josh Reyes-mentored squad continued their dominance that saw the lead balloon to 20 points, 38-18.

Come the second half, the Filipinos made sure there would be no comebacks on their watch as they peaked with a 38-point separation, 82-44, in the waning minutes of the final frame.

Zain Mahmood led the balanced scoring with 16 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals while Jared Bahay was also instrumental with an all-around game of 12 markers, eight boards, six assists, and three steals.

Jacob Bayla and Kristian Porter are the other Gilas players who scored double digits with 10 points apiece, while Renzo Competente added nine points in the win that may give them an outright quarterfinal berth with a win over the Japanese on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Kuwait succumbed to poor shooting with just 15 of 50 field-goal attempts and seeing only two of its players breach double figures.

Adel Alsaeid paced Kuwait with 16 points, nine rebounds, and two steals, while Tariq Alrashaid ended with 10 points and six rebounds that saw them exit the tourney with a 0-2 slate.

The Scores:

Philippines 82 – Mahmoud 16, Bahay 12, Bayla 10, Porter 10, Competente 9, Konov 7, Gemao 5, Nieto 4, Jones 4, Harris 2, Reyes 2, Romero 1.

Kuwait 45 – Alsaied 12, Alrashaid 10, Alresheedan 8, Asadallah 7, Malallah 6, T. Mohammad 2, Alenizi 0, B. Mohammad 0, Edhbayah 0, Alhusaini 0.

Quarters: 25-9, 43-24, 64-33, 82-45.