Batang Gilas once again responded with a strong second half as the Philippines defeated Iraq, 78-69 for its third straight win in the 2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The win enabled the Philippines to tie China on top of Group F with identical 3-0 slates. The nationals however will still face Korea and China in the next two days to round out their second round campaign.
The top four nations in Group E and Group F advance to the quarter-finals where knockout games take place.
Gian Mamuyac topscored for the Philippines with 16 points, while SJ Belangel and Kyle Pagsanjan combined for 23 points on 50 percent shooting.
Jonas Tibayan grabbed 12 rebounds as the team out-rebounded Iraq 54-51.
Batang Gilas pulled away using a 20-11 third quarter to stretch the lead to 60-44 entering the final cushion.
The Philippines once again relied on its pressure defense, forcing 35 turnovers, 26 coming off steals.
Abdullah Abdullah led Iraq with 26 points and 11 rebounds although he shot 11-for-24 from the field.
The Scores:
Philippines (78) – Mamuyac 16, Pagsanjan 13, Belangel 10, Credo 9, Flores 8, Gomez de Liano 8, Ildefonso 7, Gozum 3, Tibayan 2, Publico 2, Escalona 0.
Iraq (69) – Abdullah 26, Al Taher 11, Al Qarnawi 10, Jasim 7, Fadhil 6, Al Fahad 3, Al Saedi 3, Hussein 3, Jassanee 0, Al Madhhachi 0, Abbas 0.
Quarterscores: 23-17, 40-33, 60-44, 78-69.
