U-18 cagers bow out; U-16 five recovers

THE PHILIPPINE Under-18 team bowed out of the Fiba 3×3 U18 World Championship even as the Under-16 squad rebounded from its first loss in the Fiba Asia U16 Championship Sunday.

Thirdy Ravena, Arvin Tolentino, Prince Rivero and Kobe Paras failed to sustain their surprisingly strong start in the Worlds as they fell to Czech Republic, 14-19, and the United States, 14-21, in Jakarta on Saturday night.

The Philippines dropped to 3-4 and finished fifth in Pool B, just a rung short of advancing to the quarterfinal stage.

But the U16 boys recovered from a painful setback to Chinese Taipei, 90-95, with lopsided triumphs over Japan, 94-76, and Jordan, 73-60, to improve to a 3-1 record in the second round of the Fiba Asia tournament in Tehran, Iran.

Michael Nieto posted a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds and Paul Desiderio contributed 19 points and nine boards versus Japan Sunday at Azadi Sports Complex.

Nieto also came out big with 12 points and 20 rebounds while Jose Go fired a game-high 22 points and Jose Lorenzo Mendoza added 14 points and seven steals in the game against Jordan last Saturday.

Although the U18 quartet ended its campaign, Paras continued to shine in the dunk contest where he reached the finals.

Paras, the 16-year-old son of the PBA’s only Rookie of the Year-Most Valuable Player, Benjie Paras, garnered a perfect 30 points in the qualifications that pitted players from 15 countries.

Sun Minghui of China, the only other player who scored 30 points, also reached the title round along with the United States’ Demonte Flannigan (28) and Spain’s Antonio Morales (25).

The U18 squad, the reigning champions in the Fiba Asia 3×3, got off to an unexpected 3-0 start with wins over Chinese Taipei, 13-5, Guatemala, 18-9, and Andorra, 15-11, on Day 1.

But the streak ended against China where all four Filipino players fouled out, resulting in an automatic 20-0 loss. Jasmine W. Payo