BATANG Gilas pulled off a stunning 73-63 win over China to complete a sweep of Group B and earn an outright quarterfinal spot in the FIBA U-18 Asian Championship on Tuesday at Nonthaburi Stadium in Thailand.
The Filipino teenagers dominated the Chinese for the entire game, taking a 60-47 lead into the final six minutes. But they flirted with disaster by allowing the enemy to go on a 12-run to cut the gap to 65-59 with 2:21 minutes to go.
Point guard Dalph Panopio hit a jumpshot to steady the ship at the 1:37 mark before Kai Sotto and Aj Edu had back-to-back block shots to preserve the Philippines' 67-59 lead with a minute to go.
China’s Weize Jiang hit a three to keep China within striking distance, 68-62, with 38 seconds left but Miguel Oczon nailed four free throws and Edu added a split from the line to keep the enemy at bay.
Batang Gilas will now take a break on Wednesday while waiting to know its opponent in the knockout quarterfinals on Thursday.
Dave Ildefonso, who led the third quarter explosion of Batang Gilas, finished with 18 points on 50 percent shooting and added seven rebounds while Edu also had a monstrous performance with 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
Do-it-all Panopio was again outstanding in the backcourt, chipping in 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a steal, while Sotto added 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
After a toe-to-toe first half, 31-27, Batang Gilas pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring China, 23-12, for a 54-39 spread entering the fourth frame.
Haowen Guo topscored with 24 points while Haoran Jiang and Quanze Wang added 14 and 13 markers, respectively, for the Chinese, who were relegated to the qualifier round on Wednesday.
The scores:
BATANG GILAS 73 – Ildefonso 18, Edu 13, Panopio 12, Sotto 11, Oczon 11, Torres 5, Abadiano 2, Cortez 1, Ramirez 0, Amsali 0, Lina 0, Chiu 0
CHINA 63 – Guo 24, Jiang Q 14, Wang Q 13, Xu 7, Jiang W 5, Shi 0, Li 0, Chen 0, Wang Y 0
Quarterscores: 18-15, 31-27, 54-39, 73-63
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph