Philippines holds off China to stay perfect in Fiba U18 Asian Championship

Photo from Fiba.com

The Philippines held off China, 73-63, to remain unbeaten in the Fiba U18 Asian Championship Tuesday night at Stadium 29 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Twin towers AJ Edu and Kai Sotto gave the Chinese fits on both ends while Dave Ildefonso provided the offensive firepower anew with a team-high 18 points as Batang Gilas advanced to the quarterfinals on a high note.

The 6-foot-10 Edu and 7-foot-2 Sotto were too much for China down low as the two combined for 24 points, 24 rebounds and nine blocks.

The Filipinos, who led by as much as 18 points, 51-33, late in the third quarter following two straight 3-pointers by Ildefonso, improved to 3-0 after blowing out Lebanon and UAE in their first two outings.

The Chinese came to within six, 68-62, after a triple by Weize Jiang with 39 seconds to go before the Filipinos made enough free throws and a couple of stops to keep China at bay.

The Fil-Nigerian Edu finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

Fil-Italian guard Dalph Panopio added 12 points and eight rebounds while Miguel Oczon scored 11 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the free throw line.

Haowen Guo paced China with 24 points but went just 7-of-21 from the field.