Gilas Pilipinas Boys lose to China in the Fiba U16 Asian Championship battle for bronze in Doha, Qatar.–FIBA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas Boys failed to salvage a podium finish in the Fiba U16 Asian Championship on Monday.
Gilas misses out on a bronze medal after falling anew to China, 87-59, in Doha, Qatar. Exactly a week ago, China also beat the Philippines, 84-67, in the group phase.
China broke loose from a tight opening quarter after going on a 20-8 run in the final six minutes of the second period for a 44-29 halftime lead that quickly ballooned to 33 through three quarters.
Boyuan Zhang proved too much for the Philippines, tallying 34 points and seven rebounds to propel China to the bronze.
Gilas Pilipinas Boys after the loss to China in the battle for third place.–FIBA PHOTO
Kieffer Alas capped his stellar campaign with 13 points, five rebounds and four steals. He was named into the All-Star Five along with the 6-foot-8 Zhang, Australia’s Henry Sewell and New Zealand’s Lachlan Crate and Oscar Goodman, who took home the MVP honors.
Joaquin Ludovice paced Gilas with 15 points on top of four rebounds and three assists.
The young Filipinos were dominated in the rebounding department by the Chinese, 54-31.
Despite ending the tournament with back-to-back losses to Australia in the semifinal and China, Gilas still had an impressive run after making the Final Four with victories over South Korea and Japan and booking a ticket to next year’s U17 World Cup.
Australia won the gold for the third time in a row after nipping New Zealand in the final, 79-76.