Jolo Go drills 27 points but Batang Gilas falls short
Image credit: GMANETWORK.COM
For the fifth consecutive game, Batang Gilas suffered another learning defeat in the hands of the Argentinians, 84-71, in the classification round of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in Dubai, UAE.
The Batang Gilas may not have the result that they want but this game is a learning curve because they did something amazing against the opposing teams by cutting the deficit from 22-point-deficit in the fourth quarter into seven with seven minutes left.
When the game reached to 68-46 with the Argentians in full control, Dela Cruz and Go made back-to-back threes cut the deficit 16, Jeffrey Merchant of Argentina scored six consecutive unanswered points to get the score into 74-52.
When it seemed that the Filipinos were giving up, they found courage to mount a 12-0 run on three pointers from Dela Cruz, Paul Desiderio, and Go, adding another three free points to have the lead slice seven points 78-71. However, the Argentinas scored the last six points to end the game.
The Philippine National team connected seven three-pointers in the fourth quarter to shake something out of the Argentinians even without Jolo Mendoza. The Batang Gilas played with such an urgency in that fourth quarter but again, they fall short.
Jolo Go drilled in six three-pointers to lead Batang Gilas in scoring with 27 points. Go tried to push his team closer in the fourth quarter before the Argentinians started to take control of the momentum.
The Filipinos received contributions from Michael Dela Cruz who scored 14 points. Meanwhile, Mike Nieto added 11 points and eight rebounds as he pounded the ball at the low post.
The high-scoring game enabled Paul Desiderio to have 10 points as his contribution to the team.
The Batang Gilas had made 13-of-30 outside the three-point line that provided them a lift to stay close in the game.
