Gilas boys lose to China in Fiba U16 Asian Championship

Gilas Pilipinas team the Fiba Asia U16 tournament. –FIBA BASKETBALL

MANILA, Philippines–The Gilas Pilipinas Boys’ comeback machine conked out when it mattered most as the Philippines bowed to China, 84-67, in the Fiba U16 Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar, on early Monday morning.

After being dragged into a nip-and-tuck first half, the Filipino youngsters had very few answers against the Chinese in the third quarter before getting hounded by a frosty shooting in the final frame at al-Rayyan Indoor Hall.

The Chinese then took advantage of Gilas’ woes and went on a cutthroat 14-2 counterattack that kept their hands welded on the driver seat until the final horn.

Kieffer Alas led the way with 20 points that went with eight rebounds and three assists, while Cletz Amos and Kurt Velasquez both at least 12 points each in Gilas’ first game of the tournament.

The Filipinos will have a chance to make up for its loss when it tackles Kazakhstan on Tuesday, 12:30 a.m. in Manila.

Boyuan Zhang had 18 points, while Wenhao Fu added 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Chinese used their size to the hilt, outscoring the Filipinos 40-20 in the paint.

The Scores:

China 84 – Zhang 18, Fu 14, Wang 9, Huang 9, Liu 9, He 8, Huan 5, Li 4, Feng 4, Shen 2, Luo 2.

Philippines 67 – Alas 20, Amos 13, Velasquez 12, Ludovice 6, Alegre 4, Daja 4, Diao 3, Chua 3, Williams 2, Banal 0, Morales 0, Gomez de Liaño 0.

Quarters: 25-24, 44-43, 68-59, 84-67.