Gilas fails to sustain upset bid vs Australia in FIBA U16 Asian Championship

MANILA, Philippines — The Gilas Pilipinas U16 team were unable to complete their upset try against Australia, 83-109, at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar on Friday.

After a hot start that saw Gilas lead by as much as 17 points early, the Filipino youngsters couldn't get it done against the defending champions.

A third quarter where Australia outscored Gilas U16 29-17 switched the lead to the former heading into the final salvo.

But things were still within reach for the Filipino cagers early in the fourth as a Lorenzo Competente triple got them within seven, 71-78, with 9:04 left in the game.

It all unraveled for Gilas when they went scoreless for most of the final four minutes of the game.

From being down 12 points, 80-92, Australia's lead ballooned to 29, 80-109.

The drought was only ended when Alexander Konov hit the 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to arrive at the final score.

Four different Aussies finished in double-digit scoring with Kye Savage's 27 points leading the way.

Competente paced Gilas in the losing effort with 18 markers.

Caelum Harris added 14 points, four rebounds, and an assist.

Gilas U16 thus ended the tiff as a quarterfinalist and failed to punch their ticket to the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup next month in Malaga, Spain.

The Scores:

AUSTRALIA 109 -- Savage 27, Dent 17, Devers 14, Briggs 10, Rapp 9, O'Donnell 8, Zikarsky 7, Hughes 6, Siulepa 4, Furphy 4, Brewer 3, Ferronato 0.
PHILIPPINES 83 -- Competente 18, Harris 14, Konov 13, Bahay 13, Bayla 9, Mahmood 7, Porter 6, Nieto 3, Jones 0, Gemao 0, Reyes 0.

Quarters: 24-29, 47-51, 76-68, 109-83.