France too tough for Batang Gilas
DUBAI—France leaned on two high-scoring big men to down Batang Gilas, 86-57, Tuesday in the round of 16 of the Fiba U17 World Championship at Al Ahli Arena here.
The spindly 6-foot-7 Stephane Gombauld accounted for 20 of France’s 60 rebounds and tallied 14 points while Amine Noua, a heavyset 6-foot-6 cager, had 22 points in the paint as the French moved to the crossover quarterfinals against Spain.
The Filipinos, who took their fourth straight loss, fell into the classification round where they will go for a first win against Argentina Thursday with Jolo Mendoza a doubtful starter after pulling his right hamstring against France.
Article continues after this advertisementLed by brothers Mike and Matt Nieto, Batang Gilas rallied to move within six points in the third period, but France responded with four threes in succession to pull away at 61-47.
From there, the French widened the gap with the 6-11 Jonathan Jeanne, 6-9 Olivier Cortale and Luc Loubaki applying the finishing touches.
“We’re still trying to improve our placing and we’re proud of these 12 young kids,” said coach Jamike Jarin during Wednesday’s break.
Article continues after this advertisementThe scores:
FRANCE 86—Noua 21, Gombauld 14, Loubaki 13, Denis 9, Ponsar 7, Hergott 6, Leboeuf 5, Hufschmidt 5, Jeanne 4, Cortale 2, Labanere 0.
PHILIPPINES 57—Nieto 12, Nieto 12, Mendoza 9, Dela Cruz 8, Go 6, Desiderio 6, Escoto 2, Dario 2, Panlilio 0, Navarro 0, Padilla 0, Abadeza 0.
Quarters: 20-17, 41-35, 61-47, 86-57
