Gilas boys fall short vs China for losing start in FIBA U16 Asian joust

MANILA, Philippines – The Gilas Pilipinas boys ran out of steam in the second half en route to an 84-67 loss against China to open its FIBA U16 Asian Championship campaign on a low note Monday at the Al-Rayyan Indoor Hall in Doha, Qatar.

The Filipino teens stood their ground in the first half but were left off the dust in the latter part, scoring only 24 points the rest of the way for a losing start in their redemption bid.

Led by Kieffer Louie Alas, Gilas even held a 43-40 lead late in the second period and was only trailing 43-44 at the turn only to cool down to stare at a sudden 59-68 deficit.

The Philippine team would not recover from there on by bleeding only eight points in the payoff period as China never let go of the driver’s seat for a 17-point win.

Alas, the NBA Academy Asia standout, rifled in 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists and a steal but he shot only 6-of-18 from the field against the taller Chinese counterparts.

CJ Amos and Kurt Nathan Velasquez contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the wards of coach Josh Reyes, who will try to bounce back against Kazakhstan in Group D.

Gilas’ last assignment is Malaysia, which beat Kazakhstan with a 79-71 win, on Wednesday with hopes of finishing in the Top 3 to advance to the next round.

As only the top team from each pool will gain an automatic ticket to the knockout quarterfinals, the No. 2 and No. 3 teams still have a chance through qualification to the Last 8.

Meanwhile, Boyuan Zhang had 18 points while Wenhao Fu collared 14 points and 10 rebounds to pace China.

Gilas is eyeing to improve on a seventh-place finish in the last edition, also held in Doha.