Batang Gilas beats Bahrain, clinches spot in Fiba U19 World Cup

Kai Sotto leads Batang Gilas past Bahrain. Photo from fiba.basketball

The Philippines weathered an early storm and stumped Bahrain, 67-52, to advance to the semifinals of the Fiba Under 18 Asian Championship Thursday at Stadium 29 in Thailand.

Batang Gilas, which remained undefeated after four games, also clinched a berth in the Fiba Under 19 World Cup for the first time since the first one in 1979.

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Bahrain grabbed a 34-26 lead at the end of the first half after going on a blistering 21-0 run to close the second quarter.

But the Filipinos stayed in the game and wrested the advantage for good, outscoring the Bahrainis 19-7 in the final period.

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The Philippines twin towers of Kai Sotto and AJ Edu did much of the dirty work for the Batang Gilas. Sotto had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks while Edu finished with 16 points, 17 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

Batang Gilas will face the victory between Australia and Japan to face in the semifinals.

Rashed Awadh missed out on a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds to lead Bahrain while Baqer Ali had 13 points and four steals.