GILAS Pilipinas Youth was dealt a 24-point beating by Chinese-Taipei, 106-82, in its Fiba U16 Asia Cup 2025 debut on Sunday in Ulanbataar, Mongolia.
The Nationals, ranked 35th in the world, were overwhelmed by the world No. 51 side that led by as much as 19 in the first half before pulling away for good in the second half.
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LA Tenorio’s wards struggled to match Chinese-Taipei’s fast tempo off the bat, committing twice as many turnovers with 32.
Ball control woes also plagued the Philippines as they were dispossessed 22 times.
On Monday, Gilas Youth get a shot at redemption against an Indonesia side that also got battered by world No. 15 New Zealand, 54-96, in the tournament opener in the other Group B match.
FEU-Diliman standout Prince Cariño emerged as the country's lone silver lining in a dismal tournament debut with 23 points and six rebounds.
Jeremiah Antolin Jr. poured in 11 markers and seven rebounds, along with back-to-back nine-point games from Ethan Tan-Chi and Everaigne Cruz.
Despite the blowout loss, Gilas Youth had a better shooting percentage at 44.78 percent and even out-rebounded and had more assists than its Asian neighbor.
Grabbing 55 boards and putting in 24 dimes weren't enough to tame Chinese-Taipei as it built a lead too big to overhaul, more so after it ballooned to 30 in the second half.
UE top gun Brian Orca Jr. had the lion's share in the rebounding department with 13 boards and seven points.
In the end, Wang I-le was a beast the Nationals couldn't tame as he posted 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting, five boards and three steals.
The Scores:
Chinese Taipei (106) – Wang 24, Hsiao 13, Lu 10, Pan 9, Chen 9, Chen 8, Wang 8, Sing 8, Chang 7, Chou 5, Huang 5, Lin 0.
Philippines (82) – Carino 23, Antolin 11, Tan-Chi 9, Cruz 9, Orca 7, Delos Reyes 5, Cabanero 4, Pascual 4, Hallare 4, Lumagub 4, Restificar 2, Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 21-28, 42-57, 62-87, 82-106.
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