Photo from Fiba.com
Batang Gilas took another crushing loss, this time at the hands of European champion France, 95-54, in the Fiba U17 World Cup early Monday morning in Argentina.
The Filipinos stayed within reach in the first two quarters but it was an entirely different story in the second half.
After settling for a slim 38-32 halftime lead, France came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring the Philippines, 35-13.
The fancied French, led by European sensation Killian Hayes, remained relentless in the final frame, where they limited the Filipinos to just nine points.
France had five players scoring in double figures. Malcolm Cazalan had 18 points, Matthieu Gauzin added 16 while Hayes and Theo Maledon tallied 14 each. Timothe Crusol chipped in 11.
Carl Tamayo was the lone bright spot for the Philippines, notching a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
But even Tamayo wasn’t exempted from Batang Gilas’ offensive woes as the forward went 5-of-18 from the field.
The Philippines shot 32 percent from the field and had 21 turnovers.
Taking care of the ball has been one of Batang Gilas’ early problems in the tournament. The team turned the ball over 28 times in a 97-75 loss to Croatia on Sunday.
Kai Sotto, who posted 23 points and 12 rebounds against Croatia, was limited to just seven points and six rebounds.
Sotto and company hope to bounce back and get their first win on Wednesday against host Argentina.