RP U-16 Team Cops Fourth Place

Johor Bahru, Malaysia – Iran eked out a win over the though Philippine Team 83-73, in overtime to finish third in the Fiba Asia U-16 Men’s Championship Friday night at the Bandaraya Stadium.

Jeofrey Javillonar missed an easy layup in regulation that could have have lifted the Philippines to a win for the Smart Gilas Team, whose offensive game did’nt flourish well in overtime thus allowing the Iranians to secure the win by virtue of a 13-o run to clinch the third place trophy.

In the championship game, the mighty and tall China crushed South Korea 105-69, to bag the much-coveted championship. China and South Korea clinched the two berths to the Fiba World-U17 Men’s Championship in Hamburg, Germany next year.

This is the second heart-breaking loss for the Philippine quintet against Iran. The Philippines lost a 70-76 in their quarterfinal meeting.

The fourth place dished out by the Filipinos, is the best in years. Ravena collected 18 points, four rebounds, and four steals to lead the losing cause of the Filipinos.

RP U-16 Five Lost to Iran

Iran using its edge in heft and size subdued previously unbeaten Nokia Team-Pilipinas 76-70 in their quarterfinal match in the Fiba U-16 Men’s Championship at the Bandaraga Stadium in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Big man mir Fattahi collected 20 points and grabbed down 17 rebounds and point guard Sheil Yousefi scored 15 points and hauled down 17 rebounds to lead the Iranian assault and inflicting loss to the Philippines whose three game winning was snapped for the first time.
With the sorry loss Philippine must hurdle its last semi-final assignment Jordan to gain entry to the semifinals.
A victory by the Philippines over Jordan will paved the way a Philippine-China tip-off, while Iran will clash with South Korea for the other finals slot. The top finishers in the tournament will earn automatic berths in the 2010 Fiba World Cup U-17 Men’s Championships in Hamburg, Germany next year.
Kiefer Ravena, scored a game-high 26 points and sparked a RP rally from a 12 point deficit and even gained a one-point lead in the early minutes of the fourth quarter.
But the bulky Fattahi made his presence felt , as he helped his team dominate the succeeding stages of the fourth quarter to seal their thriumph.