After coming off a tough loss against Chinese Taipei, Gilas Pilipinas Youth must win in their final game against Bahrain; winning against them will secure their ticket to the Quarterfinals in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025.
Bahrain says otherwise — as they showed the Filipinos no mercy even if Somto Patrick, one of their key players, weren’t able to play due to an injury.
The first half was either a good performance by the Philippines, or Bahrain was just suffering from capturing their own pace and momentum of the game; the first quarter ended with a 21-22 score and a 37-42 score, in favor of Bahrain, in the second quarter.
In the second half, Bahrain showed business — rallied their offense with Hassan Abdulkadir’s offense and grabbing boards.
Batang Gilas weren’t able to contain the firepower of Bahrain, leading to waive the white flag in a 79-66 final score.
They had an off-night from the three-ball — only hitting six over 33 attempts. Shooting terribly in the charity stripe as well, for only 6/16 free throws made.
The high-scorer of the team was Jolo Pascual; showed heart, yet inefficiency was the result. He was 4/14 in the field.
Mohammed Abdulla (22), Abdulkadir’s (15 points and 12 rebounds), Hussain Faud (15), Ali Husain (15) showed their relentlessness in their match-up, and it sure paid off.
With the Philippines losing their final game, they won’t be entering the quarterfinals and will be exiting the tournament after losing to Bahrain.
The Quarterfinals will be set on Friday (September 5, 2025).—Kyle Basa, Eurotv News