Gilas boys fall to Puerto Rico, stay winless

MANILA, Philippines -- Three straight losses for the Philippines.

Gilas Pilipinas suffered its third straight loss in the FIBA U17 World Cup, this time at the hands of Puerto Rico, 98-53, Tuesday night (Manila time) at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Turkiye.

Five Puerto Rico players finished in double digits, led by Jordan Dill with 15 markers.

The Philippines scored just 10 points in the middle quarters as they saw their 24-16 first quarter advantage go up in smoke slowly.

The Puerto Ricans started the second quarter with 17 straight points to go up by nine, 33-24.

After a 3-pointer by Bonn Daja, the World No. 15 youth basketball team ended the frame with a 15-3 run to take an insurmountable 48-30 lead.

The rampage did not end there, as Puerto Rico outscored the Gilas boys 30-4 in the third quarter to take a 78-34 lead.

The lead grew to as much as 49 points, 91-42, with five minutes remaining after a Dill jumper.

Vincent Stewart Jr. backstopped Puerto Rico with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jahrel Vigo, Rognny Santiago and Justin Roman provided 10 markers apiece.

Wacky Ludovice scored 13 points in 26 minutes of play for Gilas. Kurt Velasquez chipped in 10.

It was another horrendous scoring night for the Philippines, with the squad making just 17 of their 70 shots.

They also committed 23 turnovers which resulted in 26 points for Puerto Rico.

Gilas will be playing the United States next on Wednesday.