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.

FIBA U18 Quarterfinals Predictions

Action heats up in the quarterfinal round of the FIBA Asia quarterfinal round.

Here are my picks.

IRAN vs NEW ZEALAND

Pretty even match up but I'm picking New Zealand to win over Iran, 70-66. James William Moors and Kruz Perrott-Hunt will be too much for Iran.

PHILIPPINES vs BAHRAIN

Batang Gilas has, on paper, the easiest matchup. They should win 80-60, courtesy of double-double machine AJ Edu, with help from Kai Sotto, Dave Ildefonso, and Dalph Panopio.

AUSTRALIA vs JAPAN

Love Japan but Australia is on a different class, not just compared to Japan but to everyone else in the competitions. Australia should win 100-70, led by tournament stud Sam Froling.

CHINA vs KOREA

Now this should be the most exciting matchup of the day. Conventional wisdom says China should win but I'm picking Korea to go through, 70-65. Batang Gilas has shown how teams can neutralize China (even with Guo Haowen running amuck) and Korea is disciplined enough to run the Chinese defense to the ground.

Now let the games begin!

The Importance of the Batang Gilas vs Bahrain Game

This, in my humble opinion, is the most important game for the U18 Batang Gilas team.

Why? Win this and you go to the FIBA U19 World Championships. Lose this and no one will remember you beat China in the group stages.

Here are three things to look out for:

Thing #1 Batang Gilas Dominance, Stat-wise
Batang Gilas leads Bahrain in most categories,  averaging waaaay more points (80-66.8), rebounds (58-38), blocks (6-3) and assists (17-8) per game, as well as shooting better from the three point line (30% - 27.5%) and the free throw line (72%-54%)

If we look only at those stats, then Batang Gilas should be able to handle the Bahrainis easily.

What Gilas U18 Upsetting China 73-63 Means

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Coming into last night's Batang Gilas game versus China, realists (such as myself) were hoping for a win but knew that history wasn't on our side. After all, China has beaten the Philippines on the last three U18 games they've played by an average margin of 33 points.

Still, that's why you play the game and we still all hoped for a victory or, at the very least, a good showing.

And then Batang Gilas showed us exactly how great they already are. They went ahead to upset tournament favorites China,73-63, and they did it with style, substance, and poise.

After all, the final score doesn't do justice to the thumping the Batang Gilas boys gave the Chinese. At one point, Batang Gilas actually led by 18. As China made their final run, the boys kept their calm and won by making crucial defensive stops and then hitting their free throw.

Here are three things this game eatblished about this Batang Gilas team:

Batang Gilas U18 Wins Against Lebanon, 75-53.

It was the result we expected, with some very unexpected revelations.

The Batang Gilas U18 team was touted to be the best we've sent to this event...ever. And this was its first ever game, with young behemoths Kai Sotto and AJ Edu finally teaming up together. The Lebanese, on the other hand, weren't as well known nor did they have high expectations.

So when Dave Ildefonso started out on fire, scoring 11 of Batang Gilas' first 21 points, outscoring the entire Lebanon team by himself (they had 9 at this point), it seemed like a game that would be amusing but not exciting.

Enough With Gilas, More With Batang Gilas.

Yes, I am one of the many who are disappointed with the decision of the SBP to withdraw from the Asian Games.

Yes, their decision makes sense in certain POVs (like if our goal was to finish at the podium). But there are other goals (player development, regional goodwill, etc...) and this decision does not help those at all.

But there is nothing more to be done about that so let's just move on to a team that has consistently given us something to cheer about and none to be ashamed of: Batang Gilas.

By next week, our young guns will bring honor to the country once again, as they compete at the FIBA Asia U-18 tournament. Led by promising youngsters Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, Raven Cortez, Gerry Abadiano, and Dalph Panopio, Batang Gilas hopes to cement their reputation as one of the most talented teams in Asia.

Here are three things to watch out for.

Batang GIlas U-18 Team: What To Watch Out For

In less than two weeks, we will once again be treated to a display of basketball prowess from some of the finest players in Asia, this time in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

This is the 25th staging of the FIBA Asia Under-18 Junior Men's Championship and Batang Gilas  are out to solidify their newfound hold at the top of the rankings.

Here are three story arcs to watch out for:

Story #1 The Next Big Things
Wunderkind Kai Sotto has just come from putting on a display at the FIBA Under-17 World Championships and dominating the FIBA Asia Under-16 competitions. He now takes on players about 2 years his senior (a significant amount of time, in basketball terms) with the hopes of proving that he belongs with the big boys.

Batang Gilas Crushes New Zealand 73-51, Places 13th.

In a game between somewhat familiar rivals, Batang Gilas showed just how much they've improved in the span of half a year.

Led by Kai Sotto's 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks, the young Gilas team defeated New Zealand 73-52, in a game that was never in doubt. In fact, the young Pinoys won every quarter (16-12, 19-12, 19-12, 19-15)

Don't make any mistake, this was an upset, given our history with Oceania basketball.

Just a few short months ago, we faced this same team at the FIBA Asia Under 16 Tournament and lost to them by 16 points, 76-60. They were led by promising youngsters Marvin Williams-Dunn (17points on 50% shooting), Mitchell Dance (16pts on 38% shooting, 7 rebounds), and Jake McKinlay (10pts on 33% shooting).

Batang Gilas Falls to Canada, As Expected, 62-102.

Well, we knew it was coming. In a tune up game just a week ago, our young guns lost to the same side by 35 points. Today, when it counted, we lost by 40.

Here are three thoughts on today's game.

Thought #1 We need better guardplay.
Our point guard rotation of Terence Fortea (3.5 TOs) and Rence Padrigao (3.3 TOs) are averaging a whopping 6.8 turnovers between the two of them. Compare that to our point guard rotation from the severely undersized U17 team from 2014, Jolo Go (1.7 TOs) and Jolo Mendoza (.4 TOs), who averaged a measly 2.1 turnovers between them.

And that's with Go (12.4) and Mendoza (12.6) leading the team in scoring too. Fortea is currently averaging 7.8 pts while Padrigao is averaging 1.5 pts per game.

Gilas Thoughts On the Chinese Taipei Win and the Croatia Loss

It was a wild weekend for Gilas fans, as the  senior Gilas team won resoundingly against Chinese Taipei (93-71) while the Gilas Under-17 team lost just as resoundingly to Croatia (97-75).

Here are three thoughts on the contrating fortunes of our national teams.

Thought #1 The New Gilas.
Who would have thought that the Gilas teams would finally be anchored on skilled big men, instead of talented guards? While past Philippine teams have had its share of outstanding big men, Gilas team shave almost always been undersized, and relied more on the speed and shooting ability of its guards and wings to offset our opponents' size advantage.

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.