Never say die Batang Gilas salvages 5th in FIBA Asia U18

MANILA, Philippines - Kobe Paras saved his best for last while Ranbill Tongco and Jollo Go came through with clutch performances as Batang Gilas salvaged fifth place with a come-from-behind 113-105 overtime win against hard-luck Japan Thursday in the FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship in Doha, Qatar.

The highly-touted Paras had his best game of the tournament coming away with 27 points and 10 rebounds on top of three blocks and four assists that kept Batang Gilas afloat before Tongco and Go's heroics in the regulation and overtime, respectively.

The Filipinos were still trailing by five, 88-93, in the final 14 seconds but a Paras' basket and a crucial rebound off two missed charities by Akito Uchida set up Tongco's endgame heroics.

Tongco, the Batang Gilas' leading scorer in the tournament, hit a nerve-wracking three-pointer to send the game into overtime. He wound up with 14 points.

Go took it from there exploding for nine of his 24 points in the extra time to complete Batang Gilas' fightback from a 10-point deficit at the start of the regulation.

It was a reversal so stunning that the Japanese looked lost in the overtime falling by as many as 11 points.

Uchida's 36-point explosion went down the drain as he shot themselves on the foot with those two missed free throws that could have clinched the game.

After a tight first half, the Japanese wrested control with a big start in the third canto and took an eight-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. And after erecting a 10-point lead, 75-65, it was all downhill from there for the Japanese as the Filipinos slowly chipped it away before delivering the killer blow down the stretch. 

The scores:

Philippines 113 - Paras 27, Go 24, Dyke 18, Desiderio 17, Tongco 14, Santillan 6, Yu 3, Escoto 2, Black 1, Mosqueda 1, Caracut 0, Bienes 0.

Japan 105 - Uchida 36, Tsuyama 34, Aoki 12, Sumino 8, Mikami 8, Watanabe 3, Tomita 2, Ide 2, Motomura 0, Fukuoka 0.

Quarterscores: 24-25; 46-49; 65-73; 93-93 (reg); 113-105.