Batang Gilas gains experience in lopsided loss ahead of World Cup

Manila, Philippines – An overmatched Batang Gilas ran smack into the bigger and stronger Athletes in Action in a 117-52 loss Sunday night at the Far Eastern University-Fern Diliman gym.

The lopsided loss at the hands of the visiting American selection composed of US NCAA Division I players was the last tuneup game for the Under-17 team gearing up for the FIBA U-17 World Cup in Dubai this coming weekend.

Batang Gilas coach Jamike Jarin though did not mind the scoreboard as his boys showed great resolve and heart that will serve them good in the coming Dubai joust.

“It was an eye-opening for the players especially the U-17 group that will play in the world championships in Dubai. We will be competing against world class ballers so we shouldn’t be intimidated,” Jarid told Philstar.com.

True enough, the U-17 boys hardly showed any intimidation as they battled the Americans in every possession.  But the wide gap in physical and skills set between the two age classes was too much to overcome for the Batang Gilas as they trailed by 29, 14-43, after the opening quarter.

It was the U-18 boys, led by LA Cathedral High Filipino sensation Kobe Paras, who got the chance in the second quarter. Paras, who only flew in last week to join the team, could not get his game going against the more superior opponents.

AIA started the second quarter with a telling 7-1 run that had Jarin calling an early timeout.  

With his father Benjie,a former Rookie-MVP in the PBA, watching from the sidelines, the younger Paras buckled down on defense and collared a big rebound that led to a corner jumper by Aaron Black, son of Meralco coach Norman Black. It somehow stopped Batang Gilas’ bleeding, 17-50, but the Americans could not be denied.

Jarin used a combination of both the U-17 and U-18 in the second half to get them used to playing against superior opponents.

“The game was good for us so the boys will be at least familiar with that situation,” Jarin added.

The Batang Gilas also had earlier scrimmages against Chinese Taipei’s U-17 and U-18 teams which they both won by four and eight points, respectively.

The AIA led by former NBA player Jim Jackson’s son Traevon, who played for University of Wisconsin in the 2014 US NCAA Final Four, and Texas Tech guard Toddrick Gotcher, is in town to do evangelical ministry through the game of basketball.

The visiting American team routed PBA-bound Blackwater Sports, 114-61, last Saturday.

The Batang Gilas U-17 is bracketed along with defending and undefeated champion USA, Greece and Angola in the tough Group A.

U-16 MVP Malik Newman will lead the US U-17 squad which has a 16-0 all-time record in the world championship.

Batang Gilas U-17, led by the Nieto twins Mike and Matt and SEABA youth MVP Jolo Mendoza, will open their campaign on Aug. 8 against Angola, Greece on Aug. 9 then the showdown with the Americans on Aug. 10. All their games will be televised by TV5.

Batang Gilas U-18, led by Paras and Thirdy Ravena, will vie for a slot in the FIBA U-19 World Cup when they compete in the Asian Junior Championship in Qatar from Aug. 19-28.