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| photo (c) FIBA.com |
BATANG Gilas salvaged some measure of pride, claiming fifth place in the Fiba Asia Under 16 Championship with an 89-74 victory over Lebanon on Saturday at the Arena Britama in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Jonas Tibayan scored 16 points as Batang Gilas wound up with a six wins in eight games played.
The young Filipino cagers wind up several slots off the second place finish of the 2013 Batang Gilas squad, and misses out on the Fiba Under 17 World Championship.
Only the top three in the Asian joust move on to the world meet, but the Filipinos can take solace in the strong finish in the 15-team continental championship.
The Philippines’ chances of booking a return trip to the Under-17 worlds were dashed by Japan in the quarterfinals, leaving Batang Gilas to battle for fifth at best.
They made sure to secure that spot, with nine of 12 players fielded making it to the scoreboard and five registering twin-digit marks.
Kris Harvey Pagsanjan and Samjosef Belangel had 13 points each, Dave Ildefoso chipped in with 12 and Gian Mamuyac added 10.
In the preliminaries, the Philippines eased past Bahrain, 98-58; downed Thailand, 70-51; before coming up with a 2-1 record in the second round.
Batang Gilas turned back Iraq, 78-69, before being dealt its first loss by Korea, 74-77, but came up with a huge 78-72 win over titleholder China.
The young Filipino cagers, however, started flat against a hot-starting Japan and fell on the first hurdle of the knockout stages.
Salim Alaaeddine led all scorers with 28 points and Georges El Beyrouty had 20 for Lebanon.
The scores:
Batang Gilas 89 - Tibayan 16, Pagsanjan 13, Belangel 13, Ildefonso 12, Mamuyac 10, De Liano 9, Gozum 8, Credo 6, Publico 2, Lagumen 0, Escalona 0.
Lebanon 74 – Alaaeddine 28, El Beyrouty 20, Zeinoun 15, Ziade 4, Nemer 4, Captan 3, Hachem 0, Belmona 0, Saad 0, Tabet 0.
Quarterscores: 17-14; 50-34; 71-52; 89-74.
Source: Spin.ph
