Batang Gilas raps Singapore in U-16
Batang Gilas Kai Sotto towers over David Chuabio of Singapore on a one-on-one matchup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
MANILA, Philippines - Kai Sotto, a bright prospect to be the next June Mar Fajardo, scored 17 points in his debut in international play and led Batang Gilas to a 108-42 rout of Singapore at the start of the 2017 SEABA Under-16 championship at the Smart Araneta Coliseum yesterday.
The reed-thin 6-foot-11 player hit a decent 53-percent (7-of-14) clip, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots in only 15 minutes of action off the bench, indicating he could be the backbone of the Phl men’s team in the next few years.
The whole team showed enormous potential as it made mincemeat of Singapore to stretch the country’s perfect mark in SEABA U16 competition.
Rence Padrigao, Terrence Fortea and Rafael Go also put in double-digit outputs off the bench for the Phl boys who started the game with a 9-0 roll and stayed in control all the way to the finish.
Padrigao, an Atenean, laced his 14-point game with two treys, six assists, four steals, three rebounds and two blocks against four turnovers.
Fortea of NU collected 14 markers, eight rebounds and four assists while Go of Chiang Kai Shek contributed 11 markers, eight boards, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
The Gilas boys bludgeoned the visiting team in all quarters, taking the opening period at 33-12 before building an unbridgeable 56-26 gap at halftime.
Sotto and his teammates came out meaner in the second half, giving away just nine points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth.
“The boys were sluggish at the start. They got their game going as they focused on defense. Our offense came along as we made the stops,” said Batang Gilas coach Mike Oliver.
Next up for the Junior Gilas is Indonesia at 12 noon today following the 10 a.m. matchup between Malaysia and Thailand.
The Malaysians were also victorious on opening day of the SEABA boys competition, topping the Indonesians, 63-58.
The scores:
Batang Gilas 108 – Sotto 17, Fortea 14, Padrigao 14, Go 11, Calimag 9, Guadana 9, Pascual 9, Lazaro 7, Cortez 6, Lina 6, Chiu 4, Tan 2.
Singapore 42 – Tor 10, Bryan 8, Amado 4, Li 4, Teo 4, Chin 4, Chuabio 4, Soh 2, Tan 0, Razali 0, Lacsado 0, Lim 0.
Quarterscores: 33-12, 56-26, 84-35, 108-42
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