Game Today
(Tehran, Iran)
3:30 p.m. – Korea vs Philippines
The Philippines recovered from a stunning loss to Thailand by crushing India, 105-82, Wednesday to book a place in the quarterfinals of the FIBA Asia U-18 Championship in Tehran, Iran.
Jolo Mendoza scored 23 points while Kemark Carino added 14 points, six rebounds, and six blocks as Batang Gilas dominated the Indians right from the start to reach the knockout phase of the competition.
The Filipino dribblers of coach Mike Oliver finished their Group A assignment tied with India at 2-3, but claimed third spot to arrange a quarters showdown with South Korea, the No. 2 team in Group B.
South Korea tied Lebanon for top spot at 4-1 in Group B but was relegated to second because of a tiebreaker.
The two teams clash at 3:30 p.m. (Philippine time) for a berth in the semifinals of the 2017 FIBA U-17 World Championship qualifier.
The victory came after the Filipinos received a harsh lesson with a shock 74-71 loss to Thailand, a team bannered by American-based Thai-Nigerian Justin Bassey.
Oliver even lamented on the absence of top U-18 standouts from the competition following one of Philippine basketball’s shocking setbacks.
“We can only improve if we can convince all our schools to really support our youth program,” Oliver said in an article posted on FIBA.com.
