What To Expect From The FIBA U-17 World Championships

In a week's time, our gallant Batang Gilas U-17 team will be battling some of the world's best young basketball players in Argentina.

It's a pretty tough draw for the young mean of Gilas, given that they have fallen into a veritable Group of Death, with European powerhouses France and Croatia, as well as host and arguably the top South American team, Argentina.

Here are three things to watch out for in the tournament:

Thing #1 World, Meet Kai.
Kai Sotto is literally the biggest thing to happen to Philippine youth basketball. And make no mistake, Sotto is not a lumbering, unskilled big man getting by on his size. He's a mobile young man who has developed a couple of sweet post moves, is active on the boards, and a willing (if not yet very dominant) rim protector.



Consider his eye-popping stats from the FIBA U-18 Asian Championships, where he was named to the Mythical Five.

Courtesy of FIBA Bastketball official website

Sotto is ready for the big time and if he performs as expected, Sotto can conceivably be fielding offers from the top high school programs in the US.

Thing #2 Batang Gilas, No Longer Minnows.
The last Batang Gilas team to make it to the U-17 World Championships, our starting center was 6-2 (Mike Nieto). Only two other players were as tall (Carlo Abedeza and Richard Escoto). This year's Batang Gilas boasts of a 7-footer (Kai Sotto at 7'2"), three players at 6'" or taller (Carl Tamayo, Geo Chiu, Raven Cortez) and guards who are almost 6 feet tall. That is almost as amazing a feat as having several players taller than 6'7". What that means, of course, is that we will no longer look like kids battling men. A crucial weakness of almost all Philippine teams is finally being addressed and this competition is our first look at what the future could hold for Philippine basketball.

Thing #3 Upsets Galore But No Earth Shattering Ones.
One look at the field yields a couple of surprises. What, no Spain, no Greece, no Lithuania? These are usually the countries with the best chances to defeat USA Basketball. But no, they fell by the wayside in the always extremely tough European championships and so France and Croatia get to take a crack instead. That being said, while there may be some upsets along the way, I fully expect the USA to take the gold, with Argentina, Australia, Canada, and Serbia making up the cream of the crop.

That being said, it's a great time to be a Batang Gilas fan. Let's support the boys all the way!