Gilas Pilipinas boys finish last in Fiba U17 World Cup

Australia’s Dash Daniels, middle, tries to score against Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba U17 World Cup in Turkey.–FIBA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas boys wound up in last place after a dreadful campaign in the Fiba Under-17 World Cup.

Gilas placed 16th following a 115-53 beating at the hands of Australia in the classification match on Sunday (Manila time) at Ahmet Comert Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey.

The young Nationals scored the game’s first points but the match quickly went away from them, trailing 31-16, after the opening period.

READ: Gilas boys lose to USA by 96, bow out of Fiba U17 World Cup

Gilas, which was coming off a 19-point loss to China on Saturday, never recovered and saw the deficit balloon to as many as 62 points. The Filipinos shot just 30 percent from the field, including 5-of-34 from long distance.

Edryn Morales posted 17 points and nine rebounds for Gilas, which sorely missed the services of its main man Kieffer Alas. Alas was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury.

Dash Daniels paced the Australians with 28 points, four rebounds and four assists while Nash Walker contributed 18 points.

Australia, which shot 59 percent from the field and knocked down 16 3-pointers, also drew a near-double-double effort from Joel Robinson, who tallied 11 points and nine boards.

It marked the first time Gilas finished dead last at 16th in the U17 World Cup since its qualification in 2014. The Philippines finished 15th in 2014 and 13th in 2018.