RP bows to Taiwanese, misses semis

MANILA, Philippines - The Nokia RP U-18 team bowed to Chinese-Taipei, 81-64, and missed the semifinals in the FIBA-Asia U-18 Championships at the 22nd May Stadium in Sana’a, Yemen Wednesday.

The Filipinos turned cold in the third quarter and were outscored, 8-17, enabling the Taiwanese to break away from a tight 41-38 contest at halftime.

The Taiwanese led by as many as 18 points, 75-57, with 1:41 left en route to victory.

“The boys played hard but the Taiwanese played a better game. The boys are so down at the moment and we hope we could muster enough pride when we play again today,” said head coach Eric Altamirano, whose team faces Japan at 7 p.m. today (Manila time). Japan lost to Korea, 76-83.

China routed Lebanon, 87-56, while Iran thumped Yemen, 80-45, to arrange the other semis clash.

The top three finishers will gain slots in the FIBA U-19 Championships set next year in Latvia.

The Filipinos shot only 38 percent from the field (24 of 64 shots) and struggled from the long range, making just one of 12 triples.

In contrast, Chinese-Taipei shot 47 percent (33 of 70 attempts) spiked by a five of 16 triples.

Kiefer Ravena and Gelo Alolino led the Philippines with 15 points apiece while Jeron Alvin Teng added eight points.