By Jerome Lagunzad
Game Today
(Foshan Lingnan Mingzhu Gymnasium)
11 a.m. – Australia vs Batang Gilas
Kai Sotto and Batang Gilas face their toughest test yet today when they take on title favorite Australia at the close of the preliminary round in the 2018 FIBA Asia Under-16 championships at the Foshan Lingnan Mingzhu Gymnasium in Foshan, China.
Tip off is at 11 a.m., with the Filipino dribblers out to come up with a better performance following a hard-earned 62-57 victory over the scrappy Malaysians in the opener last Monday.
All eyes will be on Sotto, the tallest in the 13-team field at 7-foot-1, as he gets another opportunity to measure himself up against the crack Aussies, led by 6-foot-8 Paul Tsapatolis, 6-foot-6 Kobe Williamson and highly-touted guard Tamuri Wigness, dubbed as “The Next Kyrie Irving” Down Under.
“Australian players are also tall, so I can use that experience to see the real level of my skill,” the Ateneo high school prodigy was quoted as saying in a report posted on the tournament’s official website.
Coach Michael Oliver and the rest of his wards could get a glimpse of how daunting the task at hand is as they got a chance to watch the fancied Aussies up close and personal in their tourney debut against the Malaysians yesterday.
If the Aussies get past the Malaysians, the stakes will be much higher in their anticipated Group B encounter with the Filipinos, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals outright and the loser figuring in the next round for other Last 8 hopefuls.
While Sotto tallied game-highs of 16 rebounds and four blocks on top of 12 points and La Salle-Zobel’s Raven Cortez provided a big lift off the bench with 12 points and 12 rebounds the last time out, the other Batang Gilas’ top guns should come up with nothing less than their A-game to stand a chance against the Aussies.