Klutch Kai Rescues Batang Gilas, Tows Them To 67-52 Win!

At halftime, it seemed like Batang Gilas' worst nightmares were about to become a reality, as they trailed Bahrain 26-34.

The Bahrainis were persistent, speedy, confident, and utterly fearless so, despite trailing 24-11 at the end of the 1st quarter, they had managed to wrest the lead away from Batang Gilas. Only AJ Edu could get anything going against Bahrain and it looked like it wouldn't be enough.

So, at the beginning of the second half, Batang Gilas found themselves a little bit lost and searching for answers. Kai Sotto decided to BE the answer. He demanded for the ball, despite Edu being in the game with him. He crashed the boards for putbacks. He waited patiently for drop passes and entry passes into the post, instead of being frustrated by the physicality his smaller opponents got away with.

Sotto and Edu. Photo courtesy of FIBA.com

And he made the Bahrainis pay. Oh boy, did he make them pay.

After scoring just 4 points in the first half, Sotto scored 10 points in the thrid quarter then another 7 points in the fourth. Six of those points came on dunks, as he muscled his way past his defenders. Edu continued being active on the boards, which saw him grab 17 rebounds, 7 of them on the offensive end.

It was a good thing Sotto decided to turn into Superman, as normally efficient players like Ildefonso (6 pts on 2-9 shooting), Panopio (4 pts on 2-6 shooting), Gerry Abadiano (3pts on 0-5 shooting), and Xyrus Torres (0 pts on 0-8 shooting) went ice cold today.

That being said, everyone on the Batang Gilas staff can breathe easier, as this team has now qualified for the FIBA World Under-19 World Championship, regardless how the rest of the tournament goes.

Next up: most probably Australia. And that's going to be the ultimate acid test for Batang Gilas.