BUCKLING down to work early, the Gilas Pilipinas Youth squad dismantled Kuwait 82-45 in the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Multi-Purpose Hall in Doha Monday night,
Zain Mahmoud fired 16 points, to go with five rebounds, while Cebuano playmaker Jared Bahay turned in an all-around effort of 12 markers, eight boards, six assists, and three steals.
Fil-Am Jacob Bayla also had 10 points, two caroms, and two steals, while Kristian Porter had 10 and five in the tourney that is a qualifier for the FIBA U-17 World Cup in Spain next month.
Gilas Youth zoomed to a 25-9 start and led 43-34 at the half.
After taking a 64-33 spread, the Pinoys hardly met resistance from their opponents, stretching the difference to as much as 82-44 late in the game.
The wards of coach Josh Reyes played their final group play match against Japan at press time last night, with the winner gaining an automatic bye in the quarterfinals for pacesetting Group A.
The Japanese ripped Kuwait 98-33 last Monday.
The winner will await the victor of the match between Group A’s second placer, either India or Qatar, and Group B third placer Indonesia.
The loser will play in a playoff where it will face Group D third placer Kazakhstan to get a shot at taking on Group A top seed Australia.
Adel Alsaied paced Kuwait with 12 points and nine rebounds as the Kuwaitis slipped to 0-2 and will collide with the loser of the duel between Group D teams Korea and New Zealand.
