Gilas Youth yields to host Greece in Fiba U19 World Cup opener; Aj Edu injured

MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Youth got a rude welcome in 2019 Fiba Under 19 Basketball World Cup, losing 85-69 to host nation Greece Sunday in the Group C battle early Sunday in Heraklion.

The Philippines got off to a strong start for a 27-20 lead in the opening quarter, but when the Greeks quickly got their groove the Filipinos couldn’t recover, especially with AJ Edu leaving the game just a few minutes into the game.

A 17-2 run with 4:26 in the second period turned things around for the  Greeks, who kept a safe distance from Gilas Pilipinas the rest of the way.

Kai Sotto finished with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Philippines while Gerry Abadiano also finished with 13 points with seven boards.

Nikolaos Aresenopoulos led Greece’s attack with 18 points while Aristotelis Sotiriou missed out on a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Philippines is now tied with Russia at the bottom half of Group C at 0-1 while Greece and Argentina are at 1-0.