No match: USA boots out Gilas Boys in FIBA U17 World Cup with 96-point whipping

MANILA, Philippines – The Gilas Boys’ misery continues in the FIBA U17 World Cup. 

Pitted against world No. 1 USA in the Round of 16, the Gilas Pilipinas under-17 team did not stand a chance as it suffered a 141-45 whipping on Wednesday, July 3, at the Ahmet Comert Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkiye (Turkey). 

With the loss, the Josh Reyes-mentored Gilas Boys – who absorbed their fourth lopsided defeat in five days – officially crashed out of medal contention and will move down to the classification games on Friday, July 5. 

Just a day after setting the most points scored in a U17 World Cup game with 146 markers, USA did not waste any time putting the Philippines away as it stormed to a 24-5 start in the first 5 minutes, before finishing the opening frame with a whopping 30-point edge, 43-13. 

By halftime, USA’s lead grew even larger to 57 points, 80-23, with Cameron Boozer and Koa Peat leading the charge with 16 and 14 points, respectively. 

The Americans continued their onslaught of Gilas Boys in the second half, dropping 26 points in the third quarter and 35 markers in the final frame, as they wrapped up the one-sided affair with their biggest lead at 96 points.

Although they fell short of breaking their 146-point scoring record they set against China on Tuesday, July 2, the undefeated Americans reset their record for most assists in a single game with 49 dimes. 

Peat finished with a game-high 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting, while Boozer – the son of former NBA star Carlos – ended up with 20 markers on a near-perfect 10-of-11 field goal clip.

The six-time U17 champion USA shot an ultra-efficient 62-of-95 clip from the field, while the Philippines only converted on 13 of its 64 attempts. 

For the second game in a row, UST high school guard Joaquin Ludovice topscored for Gilas Boys with 15 points, as CJ Amos backstopped him with 10. 

The 5-foot-9 Ludovice came up with 13 points in the Philippines’ 98-53 loss to Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

Paul Diao added 7 markers for Gilas Boys, while Edryn Morales and Bonn Daja chimed in 6 and 5, respectively.

The Scores

USA 141 – Peat 22, Boozer Cam. 20, Haralson 16, Holt 14, Cenac 14, Boozer Cay. 12, Stokes 12, McCoy 11, Smith 9, Dybantsa 7, Mandaquit 4, Toombs 0.

Philippines 45 – Ludovice 15, Amos 10, Diao 7, Morales 6, Daja 5, Williams 2, Banal 0, Chua 0, Velasquez 0, Arejola 0, Alegre 0, De Liaño 0. 

Quarters: 43-13, 80-23, 106-35, 141-45. 

– Rappler.com