Photo credit: FIBA | fiba.basketball
World no. 26 and Asia's no. 2 Gilas Pilipinas Youth opened their 2023 FIBA U16 Asian Championship campaign with a loss against the world no. 27 and Asia's No. 3 China, 67-84 on early Monday morning, September 18 (PHL time) in the Al-Rayyan Indoor Hall in Doha, Qatar. [VIDEO]
At halftime, China led by one point, 44-43. They used a strong 24-16 third quarter to extend their lead to 68-59 and finished the game with a 16-8 run in the fourth quarter.
6'8" Boyuan Zhang led China with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and a block while 6'8" Wenhao Fu tallied a double-double with 14 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, 1 assist, and a block.
6'2" Kiefer Louie Alas led Gilas U16 in a losing effort with a game-high 20 points (6/18FG, 2/6 3pts, 6/8ft) to go with team-high 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a block. 6'1" Cletz David Amos finished with 13 points (5/13fg, 3/7 3pts), 4 rebounds, and a steal while 5'11" Kurt Nathan Velasquez added 12 points (5/10fg, 2/2 3pts), 2 rebounds and a steal.
Gilas shot 36.8% from the field (25/68fg), including 11-of-30 shooting from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, China had 32 out of 67 field goals and made 7 out of 23 attempts from three-point range. Gilas went 6 out of 12 from the free-throw line, while the Chinese made 13 out of 21 free throws. The bigger and taller Chinese outrebounded PHL, 48-36.
The Josh Reyes-mentored Gilas Pilipinas Youth U16 will try to bounce back against Kazakhstan (0-1) on early Tuesday morning at 12:30am, September 19 (PHL time).
The scores:
CHINA 84 - Zhang 18, Fu 14, Wang 9, Huang 9, Liu 9, He 8, Huan 5, Li 4, Feng 4, Shen 2, Luo 2, Wang DNP.
PHILIPPINES 67 - Alas 20, Amos 13, Velasquez 12, Ludovice 6, Alegre 4, Daja 4, Diao 3, Chua 3, Williams 2, Banal 0, Morales 0, De Liano 0.
Quarters: 25-24, 44-43, 68-59, 84-67. [FULL REPLAY VIDEO] | [STATS]
(ADS) Buy Insta360 GO 3 Cam [BUY NOW]
(ADS) Buy Gilas Pilipinas Jersey [BUY NOW]
(ADS) Ateneo Shirts & Hoodies [BUY NOW]
(ADS) Buy Jordan Shoes [BUY NOW]
(ADS) Apple iPhone Promo [BUY NOW]
SUBSCRIBE to our new YouTube channel for game highlights, live stream and more!
Online Store (Promo, Buy Now!)
GILAS JERSEY | NIKE | ATENEO MERCH | DECATHLON | JORDAN SHOES
