Winless Gilas U17 draws world no. 1 USA in knockout round
AND all hell breaks loose for Gilas Pilipinas after drawing world No. 1 and reigning champion USA in the knockout rounds of the FIBA Under 17 (U17) World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Filipinos went winless after another blowout loss against Puerto Rico late Tuesday night at the Sinan Erdem Dome, 98-53, for a cellar finish in Group A at 0-3.
All 16 World Cup teams still made it to the crossover rounds but Gilas, with a forgettable outing in the group play, drew the tournament’s biggest bet in the mighty Team USA, which finished No. 1 in Group B with a perfect slate.
The Philippines and the United States were to play at press time for a seat in the quarterfinals.
Enormous favor is on the fancied Americans, who drubbed all their three foes in the pool play by a whopping winning margin of 60.6 points. Winner of all six editions of the World Cup, USA demolished France, 104-81, Guinea, 124-49, and China, 146-62.
Gilas, for its part, bowed to world No. 7 Lithuania, 107-48 and world No. 2 Spain, 96-34 before a 45-point defeat to world No. 15 Puerto Rico for an average 55.3-point losing gap.
Mentored by Josh Reyes, Gilas marked a World Cup return for the first time since 2019 during the era of Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and Carl Tamayo following a semifinal finish in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup.
But Gilas, ranked No. 25 in the world, had a tough luck in groupings by drawing all three Top-15 teams in the pool play alone.
And now, USA stands in its way.
Ace guard Kieffer Alas made it to the All-Star Five in the continental tourney but he suffered a knee injury before Gilas’ debut against Lithuania that also took a massive blow on the Nationals’ chances. — John Bryan Ulanday