Batang Gilas finishes FIBA U-17 tournament with 64-point win over UAE

MANILA, Philippines – For every beating the Batang Gilas national youth team had endured for the past week in the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Dubai, they finally had their vindication.

The Philippines poured all of its frustrations over the successive losses and gave everything they had left in the tank on Saturday, August 16 to batter hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE), 115-51, and end their campaign with their only win in 7 games to finish 15th out of the 16 participating countries.

Paul Desiderio registered a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 field goals to go with his 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Michael Dela Cruz and Mike Nieto dropped 15 points apiece while Diego Dario and Arnie Padilla contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively, to a Batang Gilas squad who will not come home winless. 

Salem Suwais was the leading scorer for UAE with 12 points along with 5 rebounds. 

The Filipino youth team finally broke the recurring trend of starting out strong and getting buried in crucial stretches as they rolled past UAE right from the get-go and allowed them to lead for only 14 seconds for the entire ballgame.

Batang Gilas, who finally out-rebounded an opponent in the tourney (67-40), led by as much as 70 points, riding on a 43.3% field goal percentage compared to just 28% by UAE.

With Batang Gilas able to stretch its legs and run their speedy game, they quickly took a 49-26 edge at the half. Their running game worked its wonders as Gilas forced 33 miscues on UAE, which translated to 38 turnover points.

Even the big guys of Batang Gilas, who have been pumelled and severely outplayed by much taller and more athletic opponents, managed to play their game in the paint and score 56 points from that area. 

The team also played defense to a T as they allowed not a single assist for UAE, while Gilas moved the ball enough on their side of the court for 18 dimes.

Gilas was relegated to the battle for 15th after another blowout loss to Egypt, 92-67, on Friday, August 15, where the young cagers stayed within striking distance again early in the game before Egypt mounted run after run to keep them at bay. – Rappler.com