Batang Gilas found their offensive groove late in the third quarter and never looked back, winning against Japan, 64-59, to book a date with Australia in the semifinals of the FIBA U16 Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar.
The win also secured for Batang Gilas a slot in the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey next year. The top four finishers in the U16 tournament—Australia, China, New Zealand and the Philippines—will represent Asia in the World Cup slated in June.
Kieffer Alas led the Philippines national youth basketball team’s charge in the quarterfinals match, scoring 29 points, securing 9 rebounds, and dishing out 3 assists to make up for a sub-par point output in the game against South Korea. Alas scores an average 18.6 points a game, the fourth highest in the tournament.
After surrendering 35 points to Japan in the first half, Batang Gilas tightened up on defense in the last two quarters and only allowed their opponents to score 24 points while making 39 baskets of their own.
Joaquin Gabriel Ludovico, the high-point man in the game against South Korea, back stopped Alas, scoring 11 points, nine of them coming from a 3 of 6 shooting from three-point range. Kurt Nathan Velasquez added 10 points, Bonn Ervin Data contributed 6 points while Elijah Mark Williams and Cletz David Amos chipped in 4 points each.
Japan won the battle of the boards, out rebounding the Philippines, 58-36. But Japan turned the ball over 19 times compared to Batang Gilas’ 14.
Batang Gilas also made two more 3-point shots, making 5 out of 23, and had a better showing at the free throw line, sinking 9 out of 12 for a 75 percent clip.
Batang Gilas, coached by Joshua Vincent Reyes, has a chance to improve on their fourth place finish in 2018 in the same tournament held in China and advance to the finals if they beat Australia. The 2018 roster included then 7’1’’ Kai Sotto, who now plays for the Gilas men’s team.
It will take a lot of grit, determination, luck and maybe a minor miracle for the Batang Gilas to get to the championship round.
Australia has routed the opposition on its trip to the semifinals, allowing no more than 50 points and winning by an average margin of 77 points. World number 4 Australia parades a roster with a 7’1’ center and no player shorter than 6’3’.
The Philippines, by contrast, is ranked 26th in the world and a roster whose tallest player is 6’6’ and scores an average 73 points a game. Alas, Ludovico and the rest of the Batang Gilas squad will be to shoot better from three-point land and play impeccable defense to get to the podium.
