SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Batang Gilas dragged Singapore to a one-sided thrashing, 108-42, to begin the SEABA U16 Championship on Sunday, May 14 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The boys of coach Michael Oliver dominated the entire game, already finishing the first quarter with a 21-point advantage that team Singapore wasn’t able to recover from.
Batang Gilas committed several errors in the second quarter but revived themselves to push a 7-0 run in the last 4 minutes making it 49-22.
Point guard Rence Padrigao extended the lead to 54-24 after shooting a trey followed by an easy layup two minutes before the third quarter buzzer.
In the last quarter, the Batang Gilas unleashed a 15-3 rally which sealed the deal for the Blue and White.
“The boys had a hard time adjusting in the first quarter but luckily they were able to recover fast and focus on their defense,” said coach Oliver. “In terms of defense, we’re okay, but we have to work on with our offense. But the game plan to be aggressive on defense was played out well.”
Kai Sotto, Batang Gilas’ 6-foot-11 center, showed his supremacy with 17 points and 5 rebounds while Terrence Fortea contributed 14 points and 8 rebounds for Team Pilipinas.
Rence Padrigao and big man Rafael Go turned in 14 and 11 points to Batang Gilas, respectively.
“I’m happy with our first game and glad we had a good start,” said Sotto. “I’m excited for our next game.”
All players on the Philippine team saw action, and coach Oliver confirms he will be changing the starting lineup from time to time.
“We’re hoping to give all the players the chance to play as starters so they know how it feels,” coach Oliver said.
Despite the good start, coach Oliver said there are improvements he’d like to see in their next game when they face Indonesia at 12 noon on Monday.
“I think Indonesia is faster so we need to prepare. We had a total [of] 19 turnovers. We also need to improve our free throw shooting,” said Oliver.
Scores
Philippines (108) – Sotto 17, Padrigao 14, Fortea 14, Go 11, Guadana 9, Pascual 9, Calimag 9, Lazaro 7, Lina 6, Cortez 6, Chiu 4, Tan 2
Singapore (42) – Teo TL 9, Tor 9, Li 4, Amado 4, Teo ZM 4, Chuabio 4, Chin 4, Soh 2, Tan 2, Lacsado 0, Razali 0, Lim 0
Quarter Scores: 33-12, 56-26, 84-35, 108-42. – Rappler.com
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