INQUIRER Sports

THE NOKIA Pilipinas Under-16 National Squad completed a sweep of their games in the group stage of the 1st FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship for Men after they trounced Bahrain, 62-45, yesterday morning at the Stadium Bandaraya in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Bahrain got off to a fast start but then, the Nationals buckled down on defense and held steady from the second period onwards to register their third victory in as many games and emerge as the top seed in Group B. Their opponents led 19-13, after the opening 10 minutes of play but the Nationals hiked up their boots on defense and held Bahrain to just 27 points the rest of the way.

Far Eastern University standout Cris Tolomia, the brother of former pro Chester Tolomia, stood out from the rest as he scored 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. He highlighted that impressive stat line by making five of his seven attempts from beyond the three-point line.

The win was a fitting follow-up to their masterful 76-50 bashing of Kazahkstan late Friday./Correspondent Jonas Panerio