MANILA, Philippines – Another game, another drubbing of Gilas Boys in the FIBA U17 World Cup.
Playing against a fellow Asian squad for the first time this tournament, the Gilas Pilipinas under-17 team still couldn’t end its misery as it suffered an 85-66 loss to China in the classification phase on Saturday, July 6, at the Ahmet Comert Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkiye (Turkey).
For the fifth time in six games, Gilas Boys already stared at a double-digit deficit at the end of the opening frame as China got off to a sizzling 29-12 start.
Led by 6-foot-1 guard Yuezhou Li, the Chinese torched the Filipinos early from beyond the arc as they nailed 5 of their 7 three-point attempts in the first quarter alone.
Li wasted no time making his presence felt as he dropped 9 points in the first quarter, before finishing the opening half with 17 markers on 4-of-5 shooting from long distance to give China a comfortable 55-32 halftime lead.
China continued to pounce on the hapless Gilas Boys in the second half as it even expanded its lead to as many as 30 points, 68-38, at the 2:41 mark of the third quarter.
Li ended up with a game-high 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting from deep, to go with 12 rebounds and 4 assists for China.
Meanwhile, UST high school star Joaquin Ludovice paced Gilas Boys anew with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
CJ Amos backstopped Ludovice with 14 points, while Bonn Daja and Edryn Morales scored 12 each.
Gilas Boys – who fell to 0-6 – hope to avoid their lowest finish in the U17 World Cup when they wrap up their forgettable campaign on Sunday, July 7, in the classification game for seeds No. 15 and No. 16.
In its first two U17 World Cup appearances, the Philippines finished 15th in 2014 and 13th in 2018.
China 85 – Li 24, He 17, Zhang 11, Fu 10, Wang 10, Liu 6, Shen 4, Fu 3, Liu 0, Feng 0, Chen 0.
Philippines 66 – Ludovice 15, Amos 14, Daja 12, Morales 12, Banal 5, Velasquez 5, Diao 2, Alegre 1, Williams 0, Chua 0, De Liaño 0.
Quarters: 29-12, 55-32, 68-43, 85-66.
– Rappler.com
