Gilas Pilipinas boys team bowed out of contention in the FIBA U17 World Cup after absorbing a 96-point drubbing at the hands of defending champion and world No. 1 Team USA, 141-45, in the Round of 16 at the Ahmet Comert Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday, July 3.
The Filipinos, as expected, were no match against the taller and more athletic Americans who, apart from their talent superiority, also employed a full-court defense right from the opening tip to further dismantle Gilas’ execution.As a result, Gilas trailed by 30 points at the end of the first quarter, 43-13, and even swelled to a 57-point deficit at the break, 80-23.
The Filipinos had basically nothing to do from there although they were spared from getting caught at the bad end of history after the Americans came seven points shy of resetting the tournament scoring record of 146 – a feat Team USA only achieved just a day ago against China.
Joaquin Ludovice finished with 15 points for Gilas while CJ Amos added 10.
Koa Peat led USA with 22 points while Cameron Boozer, one of the two sons of former NBA player Carlos Boozer in the team, finished with 20 points.
Fil-Am guard JJ Mandaquit only had four points but had eight assists in the team’s 49 assists which bested the previous record of 43 which it also set against China.
Gilas Boys are now relegated to the classification phase for the 9 to 16 spots of the tournament. During the 2018 edition, the Nationals finished 13th in the World Cup.
