Gilas boys get beating from USA
GILAS PILIPINAS boys absorbed a hapless 141-45 beating at the hands of the reigning champion and world No. 1 USA to bow out of contention in the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup late Wednesday night at the Sinan Erdem Dome, in Istanbul, Turkey.
A forgettable outing it was for the overpowered Nationals, who stared an early 13-43 hole en route to a decimating 96-point defeat in the Round of 16.
It was the fourth straight blowout loss for the undersized and undermanned Filipinos to formally crash out of play in the world youth championships, where they made a return for the first time since 2019.
All but one player barged into the scoring board for the Americans, who won all six editions of the U17 World Cup, led by Koa Peat with 22 points on 11-of-13 clip laced by seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in only 15 minutes of play.
Cameron Boozer (20), Jalen Haralson (16), Caleb Holt (14), Chris Cenac (14), Cayden Boozer (12), Tyran Strokes (12) and Brandon McCoy (11) were also instrumental as USA notched the second biggest output in FIBA U17 history.
USA, which set the mark in a 146-62 win over China in the group phase, also posted the most assists in history with 49.
Joaquin Gabriel Ludovic and CJ Amos with 15 and 10 points, respectively, were the lone twin-digit scorers for the wards of coach Josh Reyes, winless in four one-sided affairs.
The world No. 25 Gilas, which previously bowed to No. 7 Lithuania, 107-48, No. 2 Spain, 96-32, and No. 15 Puerto Rico, 98-53, in Group A, will still play in the classification rounds against No. 16 Argentina at 7:30 p.m. today with hopes of scoring a breakthrough win.
USA, for its part, will shoot for a Final Four spot on the same day at 8 p.m. with a quarterfinal duel against Canada. — John Bryan Ulanday