GILAS Pilipinas Youth shook off early jitters before fully asserting itself against Vietnam, 113-62, at the start of the FIBA U16 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers in Pampanga on Saturday.
Travis Pascual and Prince Carino rifled in 16 points each while skipper Jolo Pascual had 14 and Justin Hallare and Jhello Lumague chipped in 10 apiece as the Philippines joined Indonesia and Thailand in the march of opening-day victors.
The Indonesians routed Singapore, 68-47, while the Thais turned back Malaysia, 56-47, in the other matches at the Bren Z. Guiao Sports Complex in San Fernando.
While the final winning margin was one-sided, it didn’t reflect the anxious moments coach LA Tenorio and the Gilas U16 had in the first three minutes of action.
The Vietnamese jumped the gun on the jittery Filipinos, 13-4, putting the home crowd in shock and forcing Mr. Tenorio to call a timeout.
But the boys emerged from the huddle all fired up.
With a 13-2 counter, Gilas wrested the lead, 17-15, and it went on to take a 29-20 lead at the end of the first period. Momentum on their side, the Pinoy U16s subjected the Vietnamese to a 32-13 bombardment in the second to pull away to 61-33 at the turn, never to look back.
Mr. Tenorio after picking up the W in his coaching debut. “It was a learning process — for the boys and myself. We all will need to learn from our mistakes.”
Mr. Tenorio’s crew for sure can’t afford to commit lapses like it did especially in the opening minutes of the game against Vietnam with Thailand as its next opponent on Sunday night. — Olmin Leyba
The scores
The Philippines 113 – T. Pascual 16, Carino 16, J. Pascual 14, Hallare 10, Lumagub 10, Cruz 9, De Los Reyes 9, Restificar 8, Cabanero 6, Antolin 6, Tan-Chi 6, Miranda 3.
Vietnam 62 – Nguyen H.M.K. 13, Nguyen L.C.N. 12, Vo 10, Nguyen M.A. 5, Vu 5, Luu 5, Bui 5, Phan 3, Nguyen H.Q.B. 2, Nhu 2, Angus 0, Do, 0.
Quarterscores: 29-20; 61-33; 83-50; 113-62
