Gilas Pilipinas’ Under-18 Boys team finished in sixth place in the FIBA Asian Championship after falling to Iran 72-89, Sunday at Azadi Basketball Hall in Tehran.
The Philippines’ finish is disappointing as it is coming off a fourth-place finish four years ago. Moreover, only 10 nations competed in the tournament this year.
And a horrid second quarter proved to be the downfall of the Josh Reyes-mentored squad.
Behind 17-18 heading into the second stanza, the hosts surged to a 25-point quarter while limiting the visitors to just 13 points to gain a 13-point halftime lead.
Iran’s lead grew to as high as 27 points, 66-39, after two free throws by Mohammadbasir Momeni with 2:48 left in the third canto.
Though Mason Amos dropped 12 of his 22 points in the final frame, it was not enough to make a dent into the huge Iran lead.
Besides Amos, EJ Abadam got 18 points and five rebounds for Gilas.
Gilas shot just 40-percent from the field in the contest and got bullied on the boards, 38-52.
Matyar Ahmadpour and Mohammad Amini both scored 19 points for Iran with the latter also tallying 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Sarem Jafari added 17 points and six rebounds while Parsa Ezati Manesh chipped in 12 markers.
This is only the second time the two nations met at the youth level with the last one being a 64-56 win by Iran back in the 1998 Asian Championship for Junior Men.
The Scores:
Philippines 72 — Amos 22, Abadam 18, Gamber 9, Gagate 8, Nacua 5, Coronel 4, Bahay 4, Demisana 2, Porter 0, Andres 0.
Iran 89 — Ahmadpour 19, Amini 19, Jafari 17, Manesh 12, Khosravi 10, Asgari Nia 7, Momeni 5, Soltani 0, Seraji Josheaghni 0.
Quarterscores: 17-18, 30-43, 46-66, 72-89.
