GILAS COACH CHOT REYES PRAISES PHILIPPINE U16 TEAM FOR GALLANT GOLD MEDAL BATTLE VS CHINA
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 06 Oct 2013
Gilas Pilipinas national coach Chot Reyes has praised the the Philippines Under 16 team for its gallant stand against the much bigger Chinese squad but eventually lost 78-85 in the closest finals in the history of the FIBA Asia Championships where China won its 26th successive crown in what FIBA described as the most competitive gold medal showdown at the Azadi Stadium in Teheran, Iran.
Reyes said that following the Gilas Pilipinas achievement in making the Men's Championship finals and qualifying for the World Cup in Spain next year helped Filipino players believe in themselves and are no longer awed by the bigger powerhouse squads. He said the U16 team followed the same style that used "speed and quickness not inside low post plays" to help challenge the bigger teams.
Reyes also lamented the fact that officiating killed the U18 three-on-three squad in the China game when the Philippines was up with a few seconds remaining and all four players fouled out handing China the victory. Reyes said "if not for that we would have done much better" in the tournament although the spectacular Slam Dunk victory of Kobe Paras was a revelation.
The Filipino boys who earned a ticket to next year?s Under 17 World Championships in Dubai by whipping Chinese-Taipei in the semi finals did what S. Magheswaran of FIBA Asia described as ?everything perfect except exert the extra pressure that was needed to capitalize on the vulnerability in China?s defense? in a fantastic finish.
FIBA reported that while China kept their top place in the event they ?had to sweat out a lot more than they had, when they beat Korea in the gold medal games of the first two editions ? at 2009 Johor Bahru and 2011 Nha Trang.?
China opened up a 24-20 lead before another 18-15 run in the second quarter but the Philippines clawed back in the third with a 20-17 output to cut the lead to four going into the final quarter. But China came back with a 26-23 rally to clinch the gold medal.
Zhao Ye (198-F-97) top-scored for the winners with 25 points and Fu Hao (206-C-98) collected 22 points and 18 rebounds. Xu Mingzhi posted 14, whilst Hu Jinqiu (208-C-97) added 12 points and 15 rebounds
Point guard Jose Lorwenzo Mendoza led the Philippines with 20 points while Michael Nieto added 13, Andres Desiderio 11 and Richard Escoto put in 7 points in the losing effort. .
Magheswaran said ? it certainly was a maiden silver worth its weight in gold for Philippines? who along with China had already earned their right to represent FIBA Asia at the 2014 FIBA World U17 Championship to be played in Dubai (UAE) from June 26-July 6 next year.
The youngsters duplicated the feat of the Gilas Pilipinas men?s team who also beat Chinese-Taipei but lost to Iran in the finals of the FIBA Asia Men?s Championship to clinch a berth in the 2014 World Cup in Spain.
China banked on its edge in size which eventually helped them remain ahead on the scoreboard throughout while the Filipinos appeared to be concerned by the size of the Chinese and failed to attack the basket.
The FIBA Asia report noted that the Philippines success depended ? and worked ? on fast breaks, but for every successful drive in the lane they hit, an attempt was made to go for an outside shot, from where success was not guaranteed. A little push towards using the gaping holes in China?s middle ? literally ? would have certainly helped the Philippine go a long away.
China?s size did have its advantages, though, on the other end of the floor.
Zhao Yanhao ? surely we?ll hear more of this youngster in the days to come ? and Xu Mingzhi along with Hu Jinqiu used their height rather well and found some baskets ? or at least drew fouls.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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