Batang Gilas to play with biggest heart vs USA

DUBAI -- It will be a mixture of pride and excitement for the Philippines when it faces the United States in the preliminaries of the Fiba U17 World Championship late Monday at the Al Shabab Arena here.

Still licking the wounds of their bitter setback to Angola and Greece, the Batang Gilas are looking to have another fast and furious start in their 6:45 pm (10:45 pm in Manila) encounter to throw the

Americans off their comfort zone and deliver joy to the thousands of Filipino workers who are expected to witness this historic battle.

A shocking victory by Batang Gilas will give them a chance to avoid the top seed in Group B, which could either be Australia or Canada depending on the outcome of tonight's matches.

A domination by the United States, on the other hand, will give it the top spot in Group A and book a second-round duel with Japan.

"To be realistic, we're not expecting to win," said Mikkel Panlilio. "But this game against the Americans will give us a good experience which we can use in our respective careers. They are future NBA stars. Playing against them will be a confidence-booster for us."

The Americans have taken this tournament by storm, winning the gold medal in Hamburg in 2010 and in Kaunas in 2012 in dominant fashion.

This year, the United States -- with top flight prospects Malik Newman, Ivan Rabb and Diamond Stone at the helm -- does not show signs of slowing down as it crushed Greece by 10, 83-73, and battered Angola by 43, 99-56, while displaying an array of acrobatic shots, dead-eye shooting and, of course, rim-rattling dunks.

Newman is United States' topnotch combo guard while Rabb and Stone are rock-solid 6-foot-9 forwards who have the skills to become legitimate NBA players.

"It will be a mixed feeling if these Americans dunked over me," said Jolo Mendoza, the leading scorer of the Philippine side. "Playing on the same court with these future superstars is a different kind of feeling. It's pretty special. We'll surely enjoy every single minute of it."

The last time the Philippines faced the United States in a major international competition was in 1978 when the Manila hosted the FIBA World Championship. The Americans won, 100-70, in a memorable semifinal battle at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

"This experience is something you can tell to your future children over and over again," Mendoza added.

Batang Gilas coach Jamike Jarin said his wards will be ready and will employ the same defensive tactic which made life difficult for the Greek side.

"We're excited to play them, I'm sure they are also excited to play us," Jarin said.

"They need to prepare because we're getting better. We played with a big heart against Angola, a bigger heart against Greece, and we'll play with the biggest heart against the United States."