The reigning champions China U-18 National Team made easy work of Batang Gilas Pilipinas after thrashing them by a point shy of 30 points, 95-66, in their FIBA Asia U18 Championship 2016 encounter Sunday afternoon in Tehran, Iran.
China had an excellent start, quickly posting a 15-0 lead behind contributions from Runwang Du, Zeyi Liu, and Jianiyou Taruike with just seven minutes entering the first quarter. John Gallego’s foul shots and a jumper from Jolo Mendoza punched scores for Batang Gilas, 17-4, but their lengthy Chinese counterparts were too much to handle, sinking shots in almost every possession to take the first ten minutes of action in their favor, 29-14.
The Chinese ballooned their lead to 21, 37-16, early in the second frame with the duo of Liu and Du again backing them up hugely on offense. The Philippines, behind Kemark Carino and Mendoza, was able to reduce the gap to 15, 37-22 midway, but China’s shots inside out were hitting its target, which re-established their lead to 21, 47-36, with less than three minutes remaining. The first half wrapped up with China still in the driver’s seat by owning a 16-point, 49-33 lead.
China, in the third canto, took full control of the match, pulling off an 11-2 run to post a wide, 25-point lead, 60-35, with less than six minutes into the frame. Batang Gilas seemed to have lost their rhythm due to China’s lockdown defense on them, scoring only thirteen points in in the quarter. With China dominating the perimeter on offense and out-rebounding the much smaller Filipinos, they ended the first three quarters still with the upper hand, 70-46.
The Philippines went hapless and became hopeless all throughout, as it was all China in the final frame. Through their on-point shooting, the Chinese was able to post a wide, 28-point lead, 88-60, after a jumper from Jie Tang with 2:16 left. Gallego scored six points for Batang Gilas to trim the lead, but it was too late to spark a comeback as the Filipinos bowed down to the gigantic Chinese by 29, 95-66.
Four Chinese youngsters scored in double-digits in the victory, with Du leading the team with 17 points. Yujia Wu had 14, while Taruike and Liu scored 13 and 10, respectively. The Chinese clearly dominated the boards, 61-26, and also dished the ball better than Batang Gilas, 21-10.
Mendoza scored 19, while Gallego added 12 to pace the Philippines.
Batang Gilas (1-2) will look to bounce back and claim their second win of the tournament against Thailand on Tuesday, July 26.
The Scores:
China (95) – Du 17, Wu 14, Taruike 13, Liu 10, Man 8, Hu 9, Y. Wang 6, Fan 6, Z. Wang 6, Tang 4, Zhang 2, Li 0.
Philippines (66) – Mendoza 19, Gallego 12, Mamuyac 6, Carino 6, Madrigal 5, Yu 5, Sinclair 4, Tibayan 3, Pagsanjan 2, Bahio 2, Flores 2, Lee 0.
Quarterscores: 29-14, 49-33, 70-46, 95-66
