Gilas men’s Under-17 suffers a 62-point beating from Spain
GILAS PILIPINAS men folded to powerhouse Spain, 96-34, to stay winless in the 2024 FIBA Under 17 (U17) World Cup yesterday at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ranged against the world No. 2 Spaniards, the crippled Gilas crew fell to an unforgettable 2-30 hole in the first quarter and never got back to absorb a 62-point beating.
It’s the second straight blowout loss in Group A for the Gilas youth squad following a 107-48 bowing to world No. 7 Lithuania.
Up next for Gilas is fellow winless but world No. 15 Puerto Rico which will be an equally daunting task for a breakthrough bid especially without ace guard Kieffer Alas following his knee injury a day before the team’s debut. Puerto Rico also succumbed to Lithuania, 95-80, and Spain, 89-63.
Bonn Ervin Daja fired 12 points to serve as the only bright spot while Joaquin Gabriel Ludovice had seven for Gilas. No other player finished with more than five points.
For Spain, all but one cager scored led by Maximo Garcia-Plata with a near triple-double of 15 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in only 21 minutes of play.
Guillermo del Pino had 13 while Ignacio Campoy and Eric del Castillo added 13 each for Spain, which tied Lithuania for the Group A leadership with 2-0 slates.
No team will be eliminated in the 16-team World Cup as all squads are to play in the knockout crossover rounds among the four groups. — John Bryan Ulanday