Given the strength of their familiarity, Batang Gilas Pilipinas were able to continue their mastery over Malaysia with a 62-57 triumph in their 2017 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship opener, Monday afternoon at the Foshan Lingnan Mingshu Gymnasium in China.
Kai Sotto was the anchor for the young Filipinos, finishing with 12 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks, while Raven Cortez provided the support with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals. And the two young centers provided the spark that Batang Gilas needed in the second half.
Down by one midway through the third canto, the top-ranked player in the Chooks-to-Go/NBTC 24 provided the spark in an 11-2 run to go up 47-39. Sotto started the rally with four points — including a thunderous jam — while Cortez and Terrence Fortea kept the rally going.
Gunner Fortea added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Batang Gilas would lead by as much as 13 points, 69-46, after a basket by Cortez.
But the runners-up in the 2017 SEABA Under-16 Championship had some fight in them. A John Tang triple sliced the lead to just five with three minutes remaining in the final frame.
Forthsky Padrigao and forward Joshua Lazaro botched four straight free throws to give Malaysia an opening to steal the game. But Khor Hao Wen missed two free throws as well.
This was the first time the two squads met since Batang Gilas’ 83-62 triumph over the Malaysian youngsters last May 18 during the finale of the 2017 SEABA Under-16 Championship.
Tang led Malaysia with 17 markers, spiked by two threes.
Batang Gilas will next face Australia on Wednesday, April 4, at 11:00am. The top team in Group B will advance to the quarterfinals, while the bottom two teams will have to take part in the playoff round.
The Scores:
Philippines 62 — Fortea 15, Cortez 12, Sotto 12, Calimag 8, Go 4, Andrada 3, Guadaña 3, Padrigao 3, Lazaro 2, Balaga 0, Bautista 0, Chiu 0.
Malaysia 57 — Tang 17, Lee JH 9, Teoh YK 8, Wong 8, Foo 4, Tan EW 4, Yap 3, Khor 2, Tan CW 2, Lee W 0, Teoh WH 0.
Quarterscores: 11-13, 30-27, 49-40, 62-57.
