Tough Fiba Asia U18 bracket for Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines—The Energen Pilipinas under-18 team braces for a tough start in the Fiba Asia U18 tournament after getting grouped with some of the regional heavyweights yesterday.

The Philippines was bracketed in Group D with two-time champion and Asian powerhouse Iran, 2008 runner-up Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia for the preliminary round of the world qualifier set on August 17 to 26 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Mentored by Olsen Racela, the young Nationals will be led by under-16 holdover Jay Alejandro.

The Philippines earned a berth in the tournament after completing a title sweep of the 8th Southeast Asian Basketball Association (Seaba) U18 Championship for Men in Singapore last month.

Defending champion China is in Group A along with Hong Kong, Lebanon and South Asia champion India in Group A.

Korea, runner-up to China in the last edition in 2010, will square off with Japan, Singapore and Syria in Group B.

Host Mongolia opted to join Group C teams Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Bahrain.

The top three teams from each group will advance to the second round of the tournament, which serves as a qualifier for the Fiba U19 World Championship set in the Czech Republic from June 27 to July 7, 2013.