Gilas Boys bounce out of U-16 Asia Cup after falling to Bahrain

Gilas Pilipinas Boys suffered an early exit in the FIBA Under-16 Asia Cup after a 79-66 defeat against Bahrain.

Gilas bows out with a 1-3 record and exits the tournament without a quarterfinals appearance for the first time.

Gilas Pilipinas Youth fell to Bahrain, 79-66, in the qualification round for the quarterfinals of the FIBA U16 Asia Cup in Mongolia on Thursday.

This marks the first time the Philippines will miss the quarterfinals in the tournament’s history.

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The group also misses out on a chance to return to the FIBA Under-17 World Cup.

Joel Pascual was the only double-digit scorer for Gilas after tallying 10 points with four assists and three rebounds.

Jhustin Hallare followed with nine points, while Evaraigne Cruz contributed eight markers.

Meanwhile, Gilas could not prevent the Bahrainis from scoring as Mohamed Abdula tallied a game-high 22 points alongside three of his teammates scoring 15 markers apiece.

Newly-appointed head coach LA Tenorio took to Instagram to respond to the team’s criticism after the dismal performance.

“Kung wala ka naman sasabihin mabuti tungkol sa mga bata tumahimik ka na lang! Di mo alam sakripisyo ginawa ng mga batang ‘to! Tumahimik na lang! Para kang di Pilipino,” Tenorio said to a netizen.

His assistant coach, Richard del Rosario, also blasted the team’s critics online, defending his players and revealing the sacrifices most people don’t see.

“Hindi lahat ng bagay napapanood sa TV or YouTube. Hindi nakikita ang sakripisyo ng mga bata tulad ng pag sakay ng Angkas habang umuulan makapunta lang sa ensayo. Yung mag practice para sa school sa hapon tapos derecho ensayo para sa Pilipinas at makauwi ng hatinggabi,” del Rosario said.

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