DUBAI—Unruffled by the jeering crowd, Angola frustrated the Philippines and its flag-waving supporters with an 82-72 win in the opener of the Fiba U17 World Championship on Friday night.
Backed by over a thousand Filipinos at the Al Ahli Arena, the Nationals struggled with their shots, finishing the tightly fought contest five of 35 from trifecta territory and 24 of 53 from the two-point zone.
In contrast, the Angolans performed fairly well on the floor, nailing 10 threes and making half of their shots from the perimeter and at close range.
“We missed our shots and made mistakes. Still, these are all 17-year-olds. They’re allowed to make mistakes and treasure the experience for the rest of their lives,” said Batang Gilas coach Jamike Jarin.
The 11-time African champions also used their height to crash the boards with 70 rebounds, 21 of them on the offensive end, compared to the 46 boards of the Filipinos.
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to analyze this game. They got most of the possessions and cleaned up their misses. The game was close but we’re outrebounded,” said Jarin.
The 6-foot-8 Joao Jungo, Valdir Manuel and Silvio de Sousa dominated the shaded area, forcing the Filipinos, whose tallest player is 6-foot-4 Richard Escoto, to launch the attack mostly from the outside.
The scores:
ANGOLA 82—Jungo 26, Amandio 17, Miranda 12, V. Manuel 10, Do 6, Valente 5, De Sousa 4, Fernando 2, D. Manuel 0.
PHILIPPINES 72—Mendoza 16, Go 13, Dario 12, Desiderio 9, Dela Cruz 6, Ma. Nieto 6, Escoto 4, Mi. Nieto 2, Navarro 2, Padilla 2, Abadeza 0, Panlilio 0.
Quarters: 15-12; 41-32; 61-52; 82-72