SAN Fernando, Pampanga – Fans braved the traffic, rains, and a line longer than usual to get inside what eventually turned out to be a jampacked Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center for the Fiba U16 Asia Cup SEABA qualifiers title game.
It was worth the wait.
Gilas Pilipinas Youth treated them to a clinical display on both ends against Indonesia, hammering out a 70-40 victory to capture the regional crown on Friday night.
The teenage Filipino dribblers put up a defensive fortress that held an opponent to its second-lowest output the entire tournament, translating that to easy baskets, while also executing on half-court sets to cruise to the win in front of the biggest crowd that attended the six-day competition.
Proving their nine-point win over the Indonesians in the elimination-round was a fluke, Batang Gilas stamped their class in Southeast Asia once again after completing a six-game sweep of the tournament to herald their entry to the Asia Cup main tournament in August.
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Malaysia won the battle for third earlier in the day to round out the three teams qualifying for the continental meet in Mongolia.
Gilas Youth was so disciplined defensively that its first foul of the game came with 5.4 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Nationals led by as many as 34 points and ended up underlining their dominance by posting an average winning margin of 39 points in their six games.
But that’s the least of Gilas Youth coach LA Tenorio’s concerns.
“I always tell the boys: we’re not here to blow out games,” the rookie coach insisted. “We’re here to prepare, trust the process, and do the right thing, which is yung mga fundamentals na tinuturo ko palagai sa kanila.”
“I’m happy na 'yung mga bata, ginagawa nila as much as they can,” he added.
Gab delos Reyes already came two rebounds away from a double-double after the first half and finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds on top of four assists, and one steal to eventually be named MVP of the tournament.
Jhustin Hallare typified the Pinoy bench mob, firing a game-high 13 of the team’s 31 bench points, adding four rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 17 minutes.
They were the only two Gilas players who scored in double figures. But they didn’t need any more.
Gilas Youth banked on a suffocating defense that forced Indonesia to make just 14 of their 69 shots for an paltry 20.3-percent shooting.
Indonesia star guard Benjamin Piet Hemusi was held to eight points, missing all but two of his 16 shots, after putting up 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting in their elimination-round meeting.
The scores:
PHILIPPINES 70 – Hallare 13, Delos Reyes 11, Tan-Chi 9, Cruz 7, J. Pascual 6, Lumague 6, Carino 5, T. Pascual 4, Antolin 4, Miranda 3, Cabanero 2, Restificar 0
INDONESIA 40 – Christiano 9, Hemusi 8, Sutanto 6, Naranatha 5, Yabe 4, Al Hadi 2, Sebastian 2, Hadiputra 2, Surya 2, Setiawan 0, Dhirendra 0, Gilbert 0
Quarterscores: 21-5, 41-20, 59-27, 70-40
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