MANILA – Batang Gilas failed to advance to the finals of the 2018 FIBA U-18 Asian Championships after a 43-77 loss to Australia in the semifinals round last night at the Stadium 29 in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
The national boys basketball team, however, can still salvage a third place finish in the tournament. It battles China in the classification round at 2:30 p.m. today.
Batang Gilas earlier defeated the Chinese, 73-63.
The national team was able to keep in step with the Aussies in the opening period. They only trail by two at 14-12.
But the Australians found their touch in the second quarter. They limited the Philippines to just eight points for a 44-20 halftime score.
Australia continued its onslaught in the third quarter with a tight defense, limiting the Batang Gilas to eight points.
The Aussies were also dominant on the offensive end. It built its largest lead at 41 points in the final quarter.
Filipino-Nigerian center Ariel John Edu, who was averaging 15.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 3.3 blocks, led the way with just nine points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks for Batang Gilas.
Kai Sotto, meanwhile, struggled with just two points and eight rebounds after averaging 14.5 points and 9.0 rebounds prior.
Ilonggo Gerry Abadiano contributed eight markers for the Philippine side.
Samson Froling had a game-high 12 points while Kody Stattmann and Callum Dalton had 10 points and seven rebounds each for Australia, whose 77 points total was their lowest in the tournament.
Batang Gilas, Australia, China, and New Zealand all advanced to the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup after reaching the semifinals round./PN
