GILAS Pilipinas Youth will have a tall task ahead of it in the quarterfinal phase of the 2022 Fiba Under-18 Asian Championship where it is drawn to face Lebanon on Wednesday at Azadi Basketball Hall in Tehran.
The Philippines has had a standout showing so far in the continental showpiece, sweeping its Group C assignment with impressive victories over Syria, 112-48; Qatar, 77-61; and Chinese Taipei, 84-73.
[READ: Gilas Youth sweep group games]
Fil-Aussie Mason Amos shone the brightest among the Gilas Youth, leading the way with his tournament-best average of 24.3 points on 47-percent shooting from deep, to go with 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steal.
But it's not just him who's had a solid trip for coach Josh Reyes.
Also having standout performances for the Philippines are big man Seven Gagate, and guards Jared Bahay, EJ Abadam, and Joshua Coronel.
However, Gilas Youth will have to continue playing at its best to beat a dangerous Lebanon team which went 1-1 in Group A. Lebanon hacked out a tough 65-63 stunner over hosts Iran on Sunday before bowing to Japan, 84-63, on Monday.
Big man Karim Rtail has been an absolute star for Lebanon, leading his team with 17.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks a game.
Also impressing for the Cedars are point guard Bryan Mansour, swingman Karl Kozah, and forward Mostafa Assaf.
The winner of this quarterfinal match will advance to the semifinals and will meet the victor of the duel between Chinese Taipei and Japan.
More importantly, the winning team will earn one of the four spots for the 2023 Fiba Under-19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary next year.
In the other bracket, Group B top seed China will face Qatar in the quarterfinals while Korea will meet Iran.
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