Untouchable Gilas Youth drubs Indonesia, wraps golden run in SEABA U16

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Gilas Pilipinas Youth dominates Indonesia by 30 in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers championship game to cap off a highly dominant, unbeaten run in the regional tournament

PAMPANGA, Philippines — A smorgasbord of dominance in the country’s culinary capital.

Buoyed by a spirited defensive effort in the opening frame that set the tone, Gilas Pilipinas Youth cruised to its sixth straight gold in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers with a 70-40 decimation of Indonesia at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando here on Friday, May 30.

Already assured of a spot in the FIBA Asia U16 Cup in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia this August, the Philippines sought to iron out the kinks that emerged in the team’s first faceoff.

Shook awake from what the team considered as a lackadaisical performance against the same team two days back in a 77-68 win, Gilas Youth put on the clamps against their regional rivals.

Gilas Youth ran roughshod over their neighboring opponents, ending the tournament with an average winning margin of 39, including victories that were decided by 64 and 51 points, respectively.

The Philippines outperformed Indonesia on both ends of the floor in the opening frame, hitting 8-for-16 field goals while stifling their opponents on 2-for-15 shooting.

Prince Cariño nailed a turnaround jumper that was delicately bounced off the glass to give his team a 21-5 edge as Gilas Youth never looked back, leading by as many as 34 late in the third quarter, 59-25.

The Philippines was led by Gab de los Reyes’ 11 points paired with 13 rebounds, while Jhustin Hallare augmented the offense with 13.

On the losing side, Miracle Christiano led Indonesia with 9 points, as the team will get to also enjoy a berth in the Asia Cup.

De los Reyes, a star in UAAP high school basketball with UE, also won the tournament Most Valuable Player award after controlling the paint on offense and defense through the six contests.

Meanwhile, Malaysia secured the third and last spot to the Asia Cup after riding on a massive fourth quarter wave to down Thailand, 78-69.

Cameron Tan and Fatt Kam Sing led the balanced scoring effort with 11 as all players fielded were able to rack up at least one field goal.

On the other side, Alexander David led the way with 19 markers and 8 rebounds in the loss, while Apirach Boonsrang chipped in 16 points and hauled in 17 boards.

The Scores

Philippines (70) – Hallare 13, De los Reyes 11, Tan-Chi 9, Cruz 7, J. Pascual 6, Lumagui 6, Cariño 5, Antolin 4, T. Pascual 4, Miranda 3, Cabañero 2, Restificar 0.

Indonesia (40) – Christiano 9, Hemusi 8, Sutanto 6, Naranatha 5, Yabe 4, Hadi 2, Hadiputra 2, Surya 2, Sebastian 2, Setiyawan 0, Dhirendra 0, Gilbert 0.

Quarters: 21-5, 41-20, 59-27, 70-40.

– Rappler.com