Batang Gilas hurdles Bahrain; Australia next
Batang Gilas center Kai Sotto scores on a dunk during the Philippines-Bahrain quarterfinal game of the FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday. The Philippines won, 67-53, to earn an outright berth in the World Cup.
Batang Gilas overcame a second quarter meltdown and foiled Bahrain with a strong second half charge, fashioning out a 67-52 victory yesterday as the Philippines clinched its first World Cup stint in four decades in the 2018 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship at the Studio 29 in Bangkok, Thailand. The towering frontcourt duo of Kai Sotto and AJ Edu dished out another pair of double-double games to power Batang Gilas past the stubborn Bahrainis, who took control at the half, 34-26, on a sizzling 23-6 run but succumbed in the face of the Filipinos’ fiery charge in the third. Sotto struck for 10 straight points to key the Philippines’ 2211 counterattack in the pivotal third then the Filipinos sustained their run in the fourth with Dalph Panopio setting up Sotto for a couple of skyscraping alleyoop and slam to post double-digit leads. Sotto finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while Edu had 16 points, 17 boards and two blocks as Team Phl joined New Zealand in the semis after the latter dethroned champion Iran with an 87-72 romp.
More importantly, the victory netted the Philippines its first trip to next year’s FIBA World Cup at a still undetermined venue since finishing 10th in 1979 in Brazil.
It will also be the Phl’s first semis appearance since ending up with a bronze medal in the 1992 edition in Beijing.
The Nationals will play either the Aussies or the Japanese, who were playing at press time, for a spot in the finals.
With a World Cup slot already secured, Batang Gilas shoots for a first finals stint since losing the crown to China in 1986 in Manila.
Or the young Filipinos could go all the way and gun for their first title since winning it all in 1982 in Manila.
The Filipinos had earlier stunned the mighty Chinese in the Group Stage Tuesday to cap a three-game sweep of Group B for an automatic quarters berth.
They actually dominated the Bahrainis in the early going, 20-11, but struggled as the latter held the former to just six points while exploding for 23 points to go into the break on top, 34-26.
But the Filipinos clamped down on defense at the resumption while the 7-1 Sotto and 6-10 Edu imposed their will inside to regain control.