France routs PHL by 41

The Philippines suffered its second straight loss in the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup after a 41-point whipping at the hands of France, 95-54, yesterday at the Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, Argentina.

Malcom Cazalon led France’s balanced offense with 18 points along with three rebounds, a steal and a block. Matthieu Gauzin scored 16, Killian Hayes and Théo Maledon added 14 each, while Timothé Crusol chipped in 11.

Carl Vincent Tamayo had a double-double for the Batang Gilas with 19 markers and had 10 boards, Gerry Abadiano was the only other Filipino player in double digits with 17. Kai Sotto had a slow night with just seven points, six rebounds, a steal and a block.

It was a close game at the onset with the game tied at 17-17 after a quarter of play. The French started to gain momentum in the second quarter and had a 38-32 lead at halftime. France pulled away in the third period after outscoring the Philippines, 35-13, for a 28-point lead going into the final period, 73-45.

France is at the top of Group D with four points from a 2-0 record, while Croatia also has four points from a 2-0 slate but is behind on the point system. Argentina is third with two points from an 0-2 clip, while the Philippines is last also with two points from an 0-2 record.

The Philippines is scheduled to take on host Argentina in its last game on Thursday. /