Caelum Harris and Gilas Pilipinas Youth vs Australia in the Fiba U16 Asian Championships. –FIBA PHOTON
MANILA, Philippines — The Gilas Pilipinas youth team’s World Cup hopes got shattered by Kye Savage and Australia as the Filipinos absorbed a 109-83 beating in the quarterfinals of the FIBA U16 Asian Championship on Friday at Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall in Doha, Qatar.
Kye Savage drilled six triples to finish with 27 points, sparking the Aussies’ second half surge to book a ticket to the semifinals and a berth to the 2022 Fiba Under-17 World Cup in Malaga, Spain.
The Philippine U16 team, led by Caelum Harris and Bryan Competente, failed to sustain its strong start, building a 17-point lead, 45-28, in the second quarter before Savage trimmed it to a four-point game, 51-47, at the half.
The defending champion stole the momentum in the third quarter mounting a 68-58 advantage and pulled away in the payoff period, where Savage drilled back-to-back triples to tally a 20-point spread, 100-80, with three minutes remaining.
Australia held the Philippines scoreless in the last four minutes.
Joshua Dent flirted with a triple-double, tallying 17 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, while Tristan Devers and Carlin Briggs added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Competente led Gilasa new with 18 points, shooting 4-of-5 treys, along with four rebounds, and two assists. Harris delivered 14 points, four boards, and four blocks.
Jared Bahay and Alex Konov had 13 points each, while Jacob Bayla added nine markers.
Less than 24 hours ago, the national team dominated Kazakhstan, 83-60, to reach the quarterfinals.