Batang Gilas Pilipinas have barged into the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championships’ quarterfinals with a 42-point destruction of Hong Kong, 103-61, Thursday afternoon at the Foshan Lingnan Mingzhu Gymnasium in Foshan, China.
Seven players scored in double figures in the win. King Balaga and RC Calimag led the pack with 12 points each; Kai Sotto had 11 points and 12 rebounds; while Forthsky Padrigao, Terrence Fortea, and Geo Chiu scored 11 markers apiece.
Guard Mac Guadaña rounded up Batang Gilas’ leading scorers with 10 markers along with three boards.
With the 52-82 beatdown they had received from Australia yesterday still fresh in their minds, Batang Gilas vented its’ frustrations to Hong Kong by jumping out to an 18-4 lead early to make it a one-sided affair the rest of the way.
Chiu’s basket with 38 ticks left to play sent the Filipinos to a 42-point lead, which eventually became the final result.
Lung Tzs Ku led the team from the Far East with 18 points and four rebounds. Cheung Man Tsun, who got fouled out and played just over 15 minutes, proved to be his only support with 12 points and four caroms as well.
In probably their best outing in the tournament so far, Batang Gilas shot a decent 41.27 percent from the floor, nailing 11 shots from beyond the arc. They also outclassed the opposition in the rebounding department, 72-42.
The young Filipinos will face Japan in the next stage tomorrow, April 6, at 6:00 PM. A victory over the Japanese will send them to the semifinals and will formalize their entry into the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup later this year.
The Scores:
Philippines 103 – Balaga 12, Calimag 12, Padrigao 11, Fortea 11, Chiu 11, Sotto 11, Guadana 10, Bautista 6, Go 6, Andrada 5, Lazaro 5, Cortez 3.
Hong Kong 61 – Lung 18, Cheung 12, Lam 7, Siu W 6, Leung 6, Kwok 4, Lo 4, Siu K 2, Tan 2, Chan 0, Chui 0, Lee 0.
Quarterscores: 31-18, 59-36, 86-52, 103-61.
