Reeling from two straight defeats, the Filipinos got the morale booster they needed against the host Malaysians in a game being played at presstime.
Out of contention for the title and the two berths at stake for the SEABA zone to the ABC Men’s Junior Championship, the Filipinos are hoping to close their forgettable campaign here on a decent note.
Beating the Malaysians should be tough, however.
The Malaysians downed the Thais, 73-61, in the other game for their third straight win, which assured them of ruling the biennial tournament limited to players 18 years and under.
Even if the Filipinos beat the Malaysians and the Thais (2-1) prevail over the Indons (2-1) in the penultimate game or vice-versa, the Malaysians would still emerge champions as they have beaten both teams.
The Malaysians’ height advantage would be accentuated by the absence of Mark Lester Benitez from the final game of the tournament.
Benitez, tallest among the Filipinos at 6-foot-6, sprained his left ankle against the Singaporeans, leaving 6-foot-4 Michael Vincent Baldos, 17, and 6-foot-3 Kevin Rae Astorga, 15, to man the slot.
Applying defensive pressure up to the end, the Filipinos held the Singaporeans to just two points while coming through with 24 in the last six minutes.
Mark Louie Pradas barreled his way to 18 points, Jayfelson Agbayani added 15, while Jonathan Fernandez, Benjamin Gadi and Roel Aurelio Escueta added 10 points each.
Team captain Paul Nikki Fedelico and Roel Aurelio Escuela, on the other hand, alternated in orchestrating the plays for Johnny Tam’s wards.