The U-18 Pilipinas 3×3 quartet of Encho Serrano, Juan Gomez De Liano, AJ Edu, and Rhayan Amsali turned heads in pool play, finishing with a 3-1 record to be the first Philippine team to advance into the quarterfinals in the FIBA 3×3 U-18 World Cup.
However, the young Philippine side was overwhelmed by the size of the 12th-ranked Belgium team, ending their campaign with a 14-18 loss, Sunday afternoon at the New Century Global Center in Chengdu, China.
Serrano, who is formerly part of the Adamson High School program, finished the game with six points, while 6-foot-10 Filipino-Nigerian AJ Edu added five markers.
A step-back two by Serrano opened things up for the Philippine side, who raced to a 4-1 lead early on. But the Belgians were able to quickly knot things up with 7:06 left.
An acrobatic lay-up by Serrano followed by a long two by UP-commit Juan Gomez de Liano gave the Philippines a 7-4 lead. However, Lenny Kopens was able to answer right back, while Ayoub Nouhi crossed up Edu, drawing oohs and aahs and giving Belgium the go-ahead basket on a drive.
Down 9-12 with 4:02 remaining, Edu took it upon himself to try to lift the young Filipinos, knocking down an elegant hook shot and following it up with a thunderous dunk to tie the game at 12-all with 2:26 left.
But Peeters knocked down a long two to retake the advantage for the Belgians. Back-to-back turnovers by Rhayan Amsali and Serrano led to a free throw for Peeters while a basket by Ayoub Nouhi gave Belgium a 16-13 lead with 32 ticks left.
A late basket by De Liano proved to be too late.
De Liano finished with three points.
Peeters led Belgium with seven points, while Nouhi and Noah Fogangtchandjou chipped in five and four points respectively.
