Calimag's lay-up tows Batang Gilas to FIBA U-16 semis

MANILA, Philippines – RC Calimag drove through the heart of Japan’s defense and scored a difficult shot to lift the Batang Gilas to a pulsating 72-70 victory over Japan and to the semifinals of the FIBA Asia Under-16 Championships at the Lignan Mingzhu Gymnasium in Foshan, China.

Before the Philippines could fully celebrate, they had to endure one last attempt by Japan to forge overtime. But Chikara Tanaka, who earlier buried a triple to notch the game at 70-all with 32 seconds to play, missed a turnaround jumper that ended the game.

Calimag’s game winner averted what would have been a huge disaster for the young Filipinos, who struggled against Japan for much for the first half, falling behind 34-32 at halftime. The Japanese repeatedly attacked the interior of the Philippines despite the presence of seven-foot Kai Sotto.

Come the third period, it was the Philippines’ turn to attack the lane as Sotto scored seven straight points to give Batang Gilas a 39-36 lead, which they would not surrender.

The Filipinos were poised to blow out their Japanese counterparts when they strung up a 13-point lead following a Terrence Fortea jumper, 57-44, at the 2:12 mark of the third period.

In the fourth period, Tanaka caught fire, scoring Japan’s last 14 points, including four triples that got Japan back in the game. His endgame heroics went for naught after he badly missed on the potential game-tying shot.

Sotto led the Philippines with 28 points and 21 rebounds. He also swatted away three Japanese shots to go with three assists.

Calimag was the only other Filipino in double figures with 15 points.

Tanaka led Japan with 17 points, including six triples. Yuki Satoshi added 14 points while Mitani Keijiro and Tominaga Keisei each contributed 12 points to their effort that saw them play the Filipinos with no fear.

Japan actually did better in a few statistical categories such as points from turnovers, 15-6; and a slight 3-2 advantage in fast break points. Batang Gilas had one more second chance point, 16-15. They even shot more free throws, 18-14.

It was the Philippines’ inside scoring, 48-32, that saw them shoot better from the field (39 percent to Japan’s 34 percent).

The Philippines will either face China or Lebanon in the semifinals that will be played at 3 p.m. Saturday.