MANILA, Philippines – The Batang Gilas will give it their all at the FIBA Under-17 Championship that commences thisAugust 8 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The preliminary round schedule of Batang Gilas is set to air live on TV5 starting with their game versus Angola on August 8 at 7:45PM; followed by the game against Greece on August 9 at 10:45PM; and against USA on August 11 also at 10:45PM.
Following the footsteps of the Gilas Pilipinas team that clinched a spot to compete at the FIBA World Cup in Spain, the Batang Gilas overcame odds to secure their silver medal finish in the FIBA Asia U-17 Championship held in Tehran, Iran last year.
National Youth team coach Jamike Jarin vows that his players will show “Puso” as they aim to reach the bracket stages and possibly a podium finish.
“We’re coming in as the smallest team not only in our group, but in the entire tournament, so we plan to make the game faster, quicker, and let our opponent shoot from the outside,” Jarin said in a forum last month.
The team will be looking to the trio of Jolo Mendoza and twins Matt & Mike Nieto to lead the charge. The 16-year old Mendoza has been praised for having the maturity and game composure of a player beyond his age. Mike will be showing offensive prowess in the frontcourt while Matt gives his all-around performance as a playmaking guard.
Other members of the team include Diego Dario, Paul Desiderio, Carlo Abadeza, Michael Louise Dela Cruz, Richard Escoto, Lorenzo Navarro, Arnie Padilla, Jose Go IV and Emmanuel Panlilio.
TV5's coverage will continue with the Round of 16 (August 12, 8-10pm), Quarterfinals (August 14, 8-10pm), Semifinals (August 15, 8-10pm) and Finals (August 16, 5-7pm).
Sports5, TV5’s sports production arm, has presented the best sports action since it was launched in 2011 and successfully brought to the Philippines and to 41 other countries the world-class coverage of the 27th FIBA Asia Championship in August last year.
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