Beaten by Indonesia, 70-65, Tuesday night, the Philippines must sweep its three remaining games to have a chance for the title of the biennial tournament for players 18 years and under.
The Filipinos were supposed to take a break Wednesday but the unexpected defeat prompted the coaching staff to cancel a scheduled visit to the Petronas Towers and a courtesy call to Philippine Ambassador Jose Brillantes.
Instead, the coaches and the players viewed the tape of the RP-Indonesia game before holding practice in the afternoon.
Head coach Johny Tam said they are going to correct some flaws against the Indons – errant passing, poor shot selection and weak rebounding.
The Filipinos committed 20 turnovers, shot 35 percent from the floor and were outmuscled underneath the basket by the taller Indons, 40-34.
Still, the Filipinos managed to lead at 63-61 with three minutes and 38 seconds to go. Three straight deliberate fouls called by the Malaysian referee, however, spelled disaster for the Filipinos.
Thailand drew a bye Tuesday and is expected to handily beat Singapore at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Malaysia blasted Singapore, 124-42, in the other game Tuesday and will be facing Indonesia at 9 p.m. also Wednesday.