Kai Sotto. Photo from Fiba.com
MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas Youth fell short in its comeback bid and bowed to Argentina, 77-72, late Sunday to stay winless in the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup at Heraklion University Sports Hall in Heraklion, Greece.
Minus injured star big man AJ Edu, the Filipinos kept fighting as they rallied from 15 points down late in the fourth quarter to give the Argentinians a scare.
Dave Ildefonso led the fightback, scoring 11 of his game-high 22 points in the final frame. He made two free throws to make it a four-point game with 22 seconds left.
Argentina, however, kept its poise down the stretch. A pair of freebies by Lucas Reyes sealed the game, 77-71, with 12 ticks to go.
Kai Sotto made his presence felt on both ends of the floor with 17 points, eight rebounds and six blocks while Ildefonso also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Nationals, who dropped to 0-2 after losing to Greece, 85-69, in their opener.
Marco Giordano had 18 points for Argentina, which leads Group C at 2-0. Reyes, whose 3-pointer, gave his team a 68-53 advantage with 6:34 left, finished with 15 points and five assists.
Gilas takes on Russia (1-1) on Tuesday.