September 4 ------ GILAS Pilipinas Youth fell to host Jordan, 62-56, for its first loss in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2024 in Amman. The Philippines was able to keep the game close despite a woeful 5-of-36 shooting from threes (13.9 percent), but the misses eventually cost them as it dropped to its first loss of the tournament in Group D.
The loss sent Batang Gilas to a 1-1 win-loss card in a tie with Jordan in a share of second place heading to the final group stage match against first-place team and unbeaten New Zealand on Wednesday. The Philippines still has a chance at making it to the quarterfinals either outright by topping the group or through a ‘play-in’ where the next two teams in each group going through the qualification to quarterfinal stage.
Mark Esperanza had 14 points and six assists but Gilas Youth couldn’t contain the bigs of Jordan, which outrebounded the Philippines, 58-38, while also hauling 20 offensive rebounds against 10. Gilas couldn’t sustain its lead that reached as high as 30-24 in the second quarter, as Jordan built a late run to grab a 36-34 halftime lead.
After both teams combined for only 14 points in the third where the Philippines was almost exclusively taking three-point shots, Jordan opened the fourth with a 7-0 start to take a 52-40 lead, the biggest of the game. Esperanza cut the deficit to three with a lay-up, 59-56, with 50 seconds left, but Jordan hit its free throws in the end game. Cabs Cabonilas had nine points but shot 2-of-8 from the field for Gilas, which came off a 75-48 win over Indonesia on Monday.
The scores:
Jordan 62 – Al-Deen 14, Zeid Kilani 13, Alshami 10, Shaaban 7, Salman 7, Hijazi 4, Shatat 2, Ghazal 2, Aljaibat 2, Kaseem 1, Ababneh 0.
Philippines 56 – Esperanza 14, Cabonilas 9, Perez 6, Medina 6, Burgos 5, Manding 5, Esteban 4, Figueroa 4, Lorenzo 3, Santos 0, Ludovice 0.
Quarters: 17-13; 36-34; 45-40; 62-56.
Source: spin.ph
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