BATANG Gilas lost steam in the endgame and suffered an 85-93 loss at the hands of Korea on Friday, putting a sad end to its campaign in the Fiba Asia Under-18 Championship in Tehran, Iran.
The Philippine youth quintet looked headed for an upset win only to let an 80-73 lead disappear in the final minutes of their knockout quarterfinal against the heavily favored Koreans.
The Koreans churned a 9-0 run to grab an 84-80 lead, holding the Batang Gilas cagers scoreless in a three-minute stretch.
The closest Batang Gilas got was at 87-85 but Junghyun Lee hit the game’s four out of the last six points.
Seunghui Han led the Koreans with 24 points, while Yunghi Ha added 20 markers.
Jolo Mendoza had 19 points for Batang Gilas while Kenmark Carino added 18 points and 12 rebounds in their final game of the tournament.
The Philippines was within striking distance for the entire game. The Batang Gilas cagers even led, 31-28, at the end of the first quarter before the Koreans were able to tie the match entering the fourth, 67-67.
The scores:
Korea (93)—Han 24, Ha 20, J. Park 14, M. Park 13, Lee 9, Yang 9, Shin 2, Yun 2, Kim 0, J. Yang 0, J. Kim 0.
Philippines (85)—Mendoza 19, Carino 18, Tibayan 13, Gallego 13, Yu 8, Bahio 6, Mamuyac 4, Sinclair 4, Lee 0, Flores 0, Madrigal 0, Pagsanjan 0.
Quarters: 28-31, 47-47, 67-67, 93-85.
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