Batang Gilas’ drive for a World Championship spot got off to a hot start as the Philippines thwarted Bahrain, 98-58 in Group C of the 2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship Thursday in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The nationals used an 11-1 run to break an 8-all deadlock early and erect a 20-9 cushion. The Philippines then poured 33 points in the second quarter to build a humongous 55-26 lead at the half.
Gian Mamuyac and Jonas Tibayan then combined for 8 in an 11-2 run which opened the third quarter to make it an insurmountable 66-28 cushion for Batang Gilas.
Sean Ildefonso led five players in double-digits for the Mike Oliver-coached Philippine side with 16 points and 6 rebounds.
Juan Gerardo Gomez de Liano added 15 points and shot 60 percent from the field.
Batang Gilas shot better from the floor at 48.2 percent compared to only 35.2 percent for Bahrain.
The Philippines also assisted 27 of its 40 field goal makes, and forced 35 turnovers all-game long.
Batang Gilas squares off with North Korea and Thailand next. The top three teams per group advance to the next round.
The Scores:
Philippines (98) – Ildefonso 16, Gomez de Liano 15, Gozum 14, Tibayan 12, Mamuyac 12, Pagsanjan 9, Credo 7, Publico 6, Belangel 5, Escalona 2, Flores 0.
Bahrain (58) – Abdul Husain 21, Ali 8, Salman 7, Al Saffar 7, Aboukuora 7, H. Mohamed 4, D. Khan 2, Al Majed 2, Abdul Karim 0, Mohamed 0, Ali 0, H. Ali 0.
Quarterscores: 22-13, 55-26, 79-40, 98-58.
