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Gilas boys fall to China in FIBA Asia U16 opener

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The Gilas Pilipinas Under-16 team. FIBA" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/09/18/20230918-fiba.jpg"/><figcaption>The Gilas Pilipinas Under-16 team. <em>FIBA</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Gilas Pilipinas Under-16 team could not sustain a fine start and absorbed an 84-67 defeat against China in their first game of the 2023 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship, Sunday at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Hall in Doha, Qatar.</p><p>China imposed their will inside the paint to pull away in the second half, where they limited the Philippines to just 24 points. </p><p>Kieffer Alas led the young Philippines side with 20 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, while Cletz David Amos (13 points) and Kurt Nathan Velasquez (12) also reached double-digits.</p><p>But China dominated inside the paint, where they scored 40 points to only 20 for the Filipinos. China also had a 48-36 rebounding edge, including 15 offensive rebounds that led to 18 second-chance points.</p><p>Boyuan Zhang had 18 points, but it was Wenhao Fu who keyed China&#x27;s win with 14 points and 10 rebounds.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/13/23/gilas-women-rise-in-fiba-rankings">Gilas Women rise in FIBA rankings</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/09/15/23/gilas-rises-to-no-38-in-fiba-world-rankings">Gilas rises to No. 38 in FIBA rankings despite disappointing World Cup performance</a></li></ul><p>Gilas trailed by just one point, 44-43, at the half but China seized control in the third period. Samuel Alegre had a chance to make it a one-point game after getting fouled while converting a layup, 57-55, but he missed the bonus free throw.</p><p>On the other end, Wenwei He completed his own and-1 play, and the four-point swing gave China all the momentum it needed to break the game open.</p><p>The Filipinos then ran out of steam in the final quarter, where they scored just eight points.</p><p>The Gilas Boys will be back in action later against Kazakhstan in a must-win game in Group D. Only the winner of the group is assured of a place in the quarterfinals; the second- and third-ranked teams will battle in a qualification to the last eight.</p><p>The top four teams in the tournament will earn tickets to the 2024 FIBA Under-17 World Cup. </p><p>RELATED VIDEO</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7nrSeLf4i1c?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Gilas Pilipinas Under-16 team could not sustain a fine start and absorbed an 84-67 defeat against China in their first game of the 2023 FIBA U16 Asian Championship.