Batang Gilas rally too little, too late, as Argentina advances in classification round

The Batang Gilas team managed to pull off a late rally, but it just wasn’t enough as Argentina managed to hang on for an 84-71 win, Thursday at the classification round of the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship.

Trailing by 22, 74-52, with 5:27 left in the game, three successive triples by Michael Dela Cruz, Paul Desiderio and Jolo Go, followed by three charities by Go made it a 10-point affair, 74-64.

Argentina hit back with a deuce, but Desiderio connected from deep yet again. Then, after Go failed to follow that up, Mike Nieto managed to haul down the offensive rebound and split charities, 76-68.

Unfortunately, Batang Gilas was unable to sustain the run, as Jeffrey Merchant connected on a two-pointer, 31 seconds left. Mike Nieto kept hope alive with one more trey, 78-71, but Merchant essentially closed out the game with a pair of free throws, 13 seconds left on the clock.

Jolo Go was red-hot with a game-best 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Michael Dela Cruz added 14, while Mike Nieto poured in 11 markers and eight boards.

Argentina captain Agustin Mas Delfino scored 20 on 50 percent shooting to lead his side.

Once again, Batang Gilas was killed on the glass, 62-40, including 29-13 on offensive caroms. Argentina also had more steals (9-5) and blocks (11-4), and produced a whopping 32-12 edge in points in the paint.

The Philippines will play the losers of Greece versus Egypt, the last match of the day, tomorrow.

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