BATANG GILAS DREAM TURNS INTO NIGHTMARE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 12 Aug 2014
The Philippines Batang Gilas team to the FIBA Under 17 World Basketball Championships had dreamed of being drawn in the same group as the mighty United States, the two-time champions but that dream turned into a nightmare as the much taller, more athletic and better outside shooting Americans routed the Philippines by a whopping 60 points, 124-64 early Tuesday morning, Manila Time.
Despite the presence of a sizeable number of Filipinos in the stands waving flags, the US which had 11 of its 12 players taller than the tallest Filipino, dominated the game after the gutsy Filipinos battled all the way early to fall behind by only two points, 18-16.
But that?s the closest Batang Gilas got as the US youngsters took the first quarter 32-16 behind a sizzling 14-0 run and continued to toy with the hapless Pinoys under the basket using their overwhelming height advantage and athleticism to score easy baskets or to score on riveting slam dunks.
The bright spot on a dark night for Batang Gilas was Jolo Mendoza who once again top scored with 19 points, some of them on acrobatic shots while Jolo Go who has also played well in the Group stage added 12 points cheered on by their countrymen in the stands who never gave up in a touching display of national togetherness.
The height advantage of the USA was evident by the huge disparity off the boards with the Americans pulling down 66 rebounds to the mere 26 by the Philippines.
They also underscored their dominance in the paint with 10 blocked shots compared to just one by Batang Gilas which was not even credited by the scorers.
A quick 5-0 run to start the second quarter energized the Filipino fans perhaps more than the players who were being stretched as they tried hard to battle the Americans in the paint and to hustle in defending the perimeter against some excellent outside shooting.
But Team USA quickly doused any hopes of a fight with rim-rattling slam dunks by 6?9? forward Harry Giles to race ahead 38-21.
A halftime lead of 29 points, 61-32 broke the back of the Batang Gilas team before the USA outscored the Filipinos 29-20 in the third quarter to establish a 90-52 lead going into the final ten minutes of the game.
Giles soared for two slam dunks against a rapidly tiring Philippine team to eventually run away with a 124-64 victory.
The undefeated USA squad was led by 6?8? guard/forward Josh Jackson who had 16 points to go with 11 rebounds and 5 assists while talented skipper 6?4? guard Malik Newman added 16 points while the slam-dunking Giles finished with 15 alongside 6?6? guard Terrance Ferguson who also tallied 15 points while 6?10? center Henry Ellenson contributed 14 and 6?10 center Diamond Stone 12.
Aside from Mendoza and Go the only other Batang Gilas player to score in double figures was Escoto who will also suit up for our national team in the FIBA Under 18 Championships where Kobe Paras, son of two-time PBA Most Valuable Player Benjie Paras who was also the only ?Rookie of the Year? to earn MVP honors, will anchor the team.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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