Mason Amos had a birthday to remember.
On his 18th birthday, Amos powered Gilas Pilipinas Boys to a 112-48 whipping of Syria to open their campaign in the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship, Sunday at Azadi Basketball Hall in Tehran, Iran.
The 6-foot-7 Ateneo commit tallied 26 points, four rebounds, and two steals in just 16 minutes of action.
Amos actually outscored the entire Syrian team in the opening frame, scoring 12 points against the latter’s seven. Gilas led 35-7 to end the opening 10 minutes of the game.
Gilas limited Syria to just 2-of-16 shooting to open the game while forcing them to commit 13 turnovers that led to 21 points.
EJ Abadam joined in on the act in the second frame, helping extend the lead to 53-16 at the half.
It was all Gilas from there, leading by as many as 71 points late in the contest.
The La Salle duo of Abadam and Seven Gagate also got 19 points apiece, with the former scattering seven steals, six rebounds, and four assists while the latter hauled down 13 boards to go along with four steals and two blocks.
Joshua Coronel and Kristian Porter also supplied 10 points and 13 rebounds, respectively.
Team captain Mur Alao glued things together for the young Pinoys, dishing out eight assists while grabbing six boards.
It was an impressive debut for Josh Reyes’ Under-18 squad as it shared early lead in Group C with Chinese-Taipei, who defeated Qatar earlier in the day, 96-62.
George Kastntin was the sole Syrian in double-figures with 12 points.
Up next for Gilas Youth is Qatar on Monday at 7:15 PM.
The Scores:
Philippines 112 — Amos 26, Abadam 19, Gagate 19, Coronel 9, Demisana 8, Porter 8, Gamber 6, Bahay 6, Alao 3, Pablo 3, Nacua 2, Andres 1.
Syria 48 — Kastntin 12, Khantoumani 7, Alfarouk 6, Eid 5, Essa 5, Harami 5, Mousa 3, Dabdoob 2, Ibrahim 2, Al Hajji 1, Aldassouki 0, Tallaj 0.
Quarterscores: 35-7, 53-16, 87-24, 112-48.
