2014 FIBA U17: Batang Gilas falls to sweet-shooting Greek squad
Batang Gilas Pilipinas lost to a superior Greek squad 85-65 early Sunday morning, Manila time, at the FIBA Under-17 competitions in Dubai.
The Philippines, ranked 34th in the world by FIBA, stayed in step with the 14th ranked Greece in the first few minutes of the first quarter thanks to the efforts of Jolo Mendoza, the revelation of the tournament so far.
However, when the Greeks heated up from the outside, the young Filipinos quickly fell behind. Batang Gilas packed the paint on defense to make up for their lack of ceiling but when the Greeks started making their threes, the floodgates opened.
Batang Gilas Pilipinas faced a 30-point deficit heading into the final period. They had no shot at coming back but the supportive Filipinos inside the arena went wild after every basket from the gallant kids.
Every rebound collected was cause for a celebration. Every shot was followed by pure, unadulterated joy.
The Philippines lost its second straight game after falling to Angola in the opener but you would not know this if you judged by the enthusiasm of the Filipino crowd who were appreciative of the boys’ efforts.
They will battle the United States on Monday to wrap up their stint in the FIBA Under-17 competitions.
After an early explosion for Mendoza, the Greeks finally got their first taste of the lead after a corner triple for a 16-13 advantage. The Philippines kept in step with two inside baskets but Greece connected with two more triples to surge ahead 25-17 at the end of the first quarter.
The Greeks built a 12-point lead early in the second quarter but the Philippines responded with a 5-0 run capped by a Jolo Go triple to cut the lead down to seven at 29-22.
However, this was the closest the Philippine got in the second quarter. Nikos Kamaras heated up, scoring two triples and stuffing a two handed fast-break dunk to build a huge 17-poit advantage for Greece, 41-24.
With the Greeks dominating the rebounds and shooting well from the outside, they were able to build a 46-26 lead at the half.
Greece scorched for 7 of 19 three points in the first half. The Batang Gilas only managed to make 2 of their 12 attempts from deep.
Mendoza led the Philippines with 11 points at the half while Mike Nieto led the squad in rebounds with five.
Greece scored the first eight points of the third quarter to lead 54-26 as the Filipinos were called for a bevy of turnovers including travelling and dribbling infractions. The Philippines finally scored on two free throws but the Greeks responded with another 6-0 run for a 60-28 spread.
Thee Greeks took a 63-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter as the Philippines failed to score a single field goal in the third period.
Go opened the final quarter with a triple for the Philippines first field goal conversion in the second half. After a basket from Greece, Dela Cruz nailed back-to-back triples to the delight of the supportive Filipino crowd.
The scores:
Greece (85) – Pefanis 26, Koniaris 14, Ntouzidis 9, Flionis 6, Michaloutsos 6, Skordas 6, Kamaras 5, Diploras 4, Mouratos 4, Milentigievits 2, Charalampopoulos 2, Papagiannis 1.
Philippines (65) – Mendoza 19, Nieto 11, Dela Cruz 9, Go 7, Desiderio 6, Escoto 4, Navarro 4, Abadeza 2, Dario 2, Padilla 1, Panlilio 0.
Quarters: 25-17, 46-26, 63-33, 85-65.
