THERE was no slow start this time, only a massive rout.
The Gilas Pilipinas Youth Under-16 team bamboozled hapless Thailand 87-42 for its second straight win in the FIBA U-16 Asia Cup SEABA qualifiers last Sunday night at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Recovering from a wobbly start against Vietnam in their opening match, the young Filipino cagers waxed hot early behind Andwele Cabanero who attacked the rim while Jhustin Hallare and Prince Carino banged in early threes to set the tone for the rout.
“We reminded them during halftime that moments like the first quarter will come, like we could do nothing wrong,” Gilas Youth coach LA Tenorio said. “But the moment that we think the game is going to be easy, when we lose our focus, when we stop paying attention to our discipline and the little things we need to do, our opponents can bounce back.
“We need to respect the game and respect our opponents. It’s natural. In the game, nakita nila na kaya iyong kalaban kaya nanggigil pero that’s not what I want to teach them. What we want them to learn is that we always need to play the game the right way,” he added.
Tenorio’s wards clashed with Singapore at press time last night, where they eyed a third straight win.
Gilas Youth battles Malaysia tomorrow and Indonesia on Thursday.
May 30, Friday, is reserved for the classification round and the final, with the three best-placed squads advancing to the FIBA Asia Cup, representing Southeast Asia.
Gab Delos Reyes showed the way for Gilas Youth with 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Carino chipped in 15 markers while Cabanero had 10 points, four boards, two assists, and three steals in just 16 minutes.
Travis Pascual had an all-around performance with six markers, nine caroms, and seven dimes, Everaigne Cruz added 12 and Jhello Lumague was a beast off the glass with 15 rebounds.
No player from Thailand scored in double figures as it chose to rest Ronnie Allsop, the team’s top scorer against Malaysia.
