Photo from https://nhatrang2011.fibaasia.net
NHA TRANG, Vietnam—Hubert Cani and Rev Diputado switched roles but still delivered big as the Energen Pilipinas squad crushed Qatar, 107-28, to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the Fiba Asia U16 tournament Saturday night at the Khanh Hoa Sports Center here.
“We set the goal before the tournament to get into the quarters,” said national youth coach Olsen Racela. “Now the goal is to get to a better position to get into the semifinals and the finals.”
With the record from the preliminaries carried over, the Philippines needed just one win in the second round to secure a berth in the knockout quarterfinal stage.
The win also marked the third time the Filipinos held their rivals to 30 points or less. They started with a 93-30 rout of Indonesia, then overpowered Vietnam, 111-25.
Cani, who started this time after coming off the bench in the first two games, drilled six points in an explosive 17-0 start that propped up the young Nationals early.
“We’re playing as a team instead of being selfish,” said Cani, a shooting guard from the National U Bullpups.
Coming off the bench, Diputado took charge in the second half as the Philippines pulled away by 65 points, 85-20, by the end of the third period.
Diputado and Cani finished with a combined 31 points, while Jordan Heading and Andrei Caracut delivered 13 markers each.
Filipino-American Nic Dalafu chipped in 10 points and big man Jay Javelosa also had the same output aside from blocking four shots.
The young Nationals hardly missed plucky guard Kyles Lao, the Xavier standout who was sidelined due to a sprained ankle.
“Kyles is usually the first guy off the bench, but [even without him] we want our first guy off the bench to bring the same energy,” said Racela. “That’s why we put Rev in the bench and started Hubert.”
The Philippines has a shot at topping Group F in the second round by beating Saudi Arabia in a game being played last night and powerhouse Japan tonight.
Joining the Philippines and Japan among the early quarterfinalists are defending champion China and last edition’s runner-up Korea, both similarly unbeaten in Group E.
“Japan has very good shooters,” added Cani. “We have to close out our defense.”
The 12 teams that qualified in the preliminary round were divided into two groups of six teams each, where the top four will advance to the Round of 8.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 107—Diputado 16, Cani 15, Heading 13, Caracut 13, Dalafu 10, Javelosa 10, Rivero 8, Asilum 7, Go 6, Alejandro 5, Ramos 4.
QATAR 28—Dawoud 10, Abdelwaky 7, Saad 6, Al Marri 3, Alamhad 2, Al Ahbabi 0, Mohamed 0, Al Abidi 0, Al Tamimi 0, Al Malki 0, Al Sheraim 0, Almutawa 0.
Quarters: 36-6, 56-10, 85-20, 107-28