by Waylon Galvez
Gilas Pilipinas Youth got solid performances from Fil-Cypriot AJ Edu and Fil-Italian Dalph Panopio and dumped Al Rayyan, 93-64, in their tune up match Tuesday night in Doha, Qatar.
Edu, a 6-foot-10 power forward who plays for Division 1 school University of Toledo in US NCAA, finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and a shot block in more than 25 minutes of action.
The 6-foot-1 guard Panopio, on the other hand, displayed his all-round skills as he contributed 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Nationals.
Carl Tamayo also shone as he finished with 11 points for the Philippines, which converted 33-of-73 (45.2%) shots from the field including 14-of-37 from three-point territory, and controlled the rebounding department 39-36 against one of the top professional teams in the Qatar.
The win of the Sandy Arrespacochaga-mentored squad completed a two-game sweep on Al Rayyan following 79-54 win Sunday where 7-foot-2 center Kai Sotto scattered 19 points.
The youth team used the pair of exhibition games, as well as the five days training camp in Qatar as part of their preparation for the FIBA Under-19 World Cup set June 29 to July 7 in Heraklion, Greece.
Gilas Youth leaves for Qatar today in time for their opening game against host nation Greece on June 29. The two teams are in Group C together with Russia and Argentina.
