GILAS Pilipinas Youth arranged a qualification to the quarterfinals game against Bahrain in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Chinese Taipei defeated Indonesia, 107-102, on Tuesday night to clinch the No. 2 spot in Group B with a 2-1 win-loss record, leaving the Philippines in third place with a 1-2 mark.
READ: New Zealand simply too much for cold Gilas Youth in U16 Asia Cup
By finishing at No. 3 in Group B, Gilas Youth will collide with the second-seed of Group A in Bahrain, which ended the group stage with a 2-1 win-loss mark. The game is set on Thursday, 11:30 a.m. local and Manila time at the Mbank Arena.
One thing going for the Philippines in its bid to reach the quarterfinals is that it had defeated Bahrain in two of their games in past FIBA U16 Asia Cup editions, winning 98-58 and 62-45 on October 29, 2015 and November 21, 2009 respectively.
After being routed by Australia, 141-47, in the tournament opener, Bahrain beat Lebanon, 70-68, and India, 111-80, to finish at second in Group A.
Two Bahrain players will be on Gilas Youth’s radar in Hassan Oshobuge Abdulkadir and Somto Patrick Onoduenyi.
Abdulkadir and Onoduenyi have been the 1-2 punch of Bahrain, averaging 22.5 and 21.3 respectively. The two are the only players in Bahrain that has an average scoring in double figures.
If it hurdles Bahrain, however, the road to the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup next year will be a lot tougher for Gilas Pilipinas as it faces unbeaten China in the quarterfinals.
China gained an outright berth in the quarterfinals after an unblemished 3-0 record in Group C, beating host Mongolia, 103-45, Malaysia, 100-44, and Korea, 97-81.
The top four teams in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 will qualify for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup set in Turkey.
So far, the Philippines has one victory as the LA Tenorio-coached squad defeated Indonesia, 65-60, in their second game of the group stage. It lost in blowout fashion to Chinese Taipei, 106-82, and New Zealand, 85-54.
If Gilas Youth loses to Bahrain on Thursday, that would be the end of its campaign as there will be no classification games for the 13th to 16th placers.
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