FOR true-blue Filipino cage fans who came in droves last Saturday night, the sights were new: LA Tenorio giving instructions from the sidelines to young and inspiring bets at a venue not named Smart Araneta Coliseum or Mall of Asia Arena.
But the mission was the same—reign in the region anew.
That goal got off to a blistering start after the Gilas Pilipinas Youth Under-16 team dismantled Vietnam 99-52 in the FIBA U-16 Asia Cup SEABA qualifiers at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
The visitors zoomed to an early 13-4 lead, prompting Tenorio to call his first timeout as tactician of the youth side at the 7:01 mark of the opening period.
From there, Tenorio’s troops got their bearings and offered a peek of their strength.
“Halatang bagito ba? Nag-panic kaagad,” Tenorio said in jest. “Para akong varsity player ulit. It was a learning process for the boys and me. We all will need to learn from our mistakes.
“We didn’t know anything about them, not much scouting report. But we knew they had three very good players,” he added.
Travis Pascual and Prince Carino uncorked 16 points each for Gilas Youth while Jolo Pascual added 14 markers.
Justin Hallare and Jhello Lumague also scored 10 apiece.
The Gilas Youth crew battled Thailand at press time last night and will face Singapore today, with all matches set at the same venue.
The young Filipino dribblers tangle with Indonesia on Wednesday and Malaysia 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.
Traditionally, only the top two teams in the SEABA qualifiers bag slots in the continental showcase. However, SEABA benefited from the strength of the Philippines’ strong showing under coach Josh Reyes in the previous edition of the Asia Cup in Qatar, as Gilas earned an extra berth for the region.
The U-16 Asia Cup takes place in late August in Mongolia.
