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 Team Advances to Quarterfinals

Johor Bahru – Nokia U-16 Team Pilipinas collected two more convincing wins to remained unbeaten on its group, to easily cruised in the quarterfinals of the FIBA U-16 Men’s Championships at the Bandaraga Stadium here.
After escaping with a dramatic win over tough Japan in overtime on its first game, the young Filipinos displayed its fiery and feisty form as they whipped the taller Kazakhstan squad 76-50 and clobbered pesky Bahrain side with a scintillating 62-45 victory. to top the Group B with a lean 3-0 slate.
The RP boys will tangle with Syria in the quarterfinals and need to win at least two wins in this round to secure a berth to the semifinal stage of the tournament.
Against the Bahrainis, spitfire Cris Tolomia stepped as the team’s main weapon firing barrage of points, making up for Kiefer Ravena who was handcuffed by the stifling defense put up by their rival from the Middle East. Tolomia scored a game high 27 points, including the 13 points he scored in the decisive fourth quarter to help Philippines secured its third win.
The younger brother of Barangay Ginebra, Chester Tolomia, also collected three rebounds, a steal, and unleashed five three point bombs and 28 minutes of action.
Against the Kazakhstan, Ravena sizzled with 25 points against Japan and was held to only 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, allowing Tolomia and the rest of the members of the team to carry the fight for the RP team.