GILAS Pilipinas Youth was overwhelmed by Lithuania, 107-48, on Saturday in the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.
Only Cletz David Amos scored in double figures with 10 points in a game where Gilas Youth trailed by as many as 63 points against last edition's fourth placer.
The road will not get any easier for Gilas Youth as it next goes up against Spain, the runner-up during the last Under-17 World Cup.
Lithuania showed its might in the third quarter when it outscored the Philippines, 35-7.
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Arturas Butajevas, who recently played for FC Barcelona in the Adidas Next Generation Tournament, had 22 points and nine rebounds, while Kajus Mikalauskas added 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals for Lithuania.
Kurt Nathan Velasquez had eight points and six rebounds for Gilas Youth, which recently made a roster change following the injury of Kieffer Alas.
The brother of NLEX player Kevin Alas and son of coach Louie Alas sustained a sprained knee during a friendly against Canada prior to the tournament and will be out for three weeks.
Gilas Youth made it to the U17 World Cup following a fourth-place finish in last year’s FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship with Alas being named as part of the All-Star Five (Mythical Five).
The scores:
Lithuania 107 – Butajevas 22, Mikalauskas 15, Sirgedas 14, Buika 12, Bulanovas 10, Urbonas 9, Vilkas 7, Deniusas 7, Liutkevicius 6, Strelciunas 4, Pocius 1, Norutis 0.
Philippines 48 – Amos 10, Velasquez 8, Daja 7, Banal 6, Williams 5, Morales 5, Chua 3, Diao 2, Ludovice 2, Arejola 0, Alegre 0, Gomez de Liano 0.
Quarters: 23-13; 46-29; 81-36; 107-48.
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