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Philippines U21 drops 51-point hammer on hapless Nigeria U21, 121-70 (81045)

Oslo, Norway -- "Calm before the storm." That's how Coach Leo described today's game as they easily got past Nigeria U21, 121-70. Philippines U21's next three games are up against Italia U21 (3-1), Israel U21 (2-2) and Bosna i Hercegovina U21 (2-2), in this particular order. Looking at the current standings, these aforementioned teams, together with Philippines U21 (3-1) and Magyarország U21 (2-2), will be fighting over the last 3 spots to qualify for the second round. Hong Kong U21 (4-0) got a better grip of the top spot after drubbing Bosna i Hercegovina U21 earlier, 114-103.

As expected by many, Philippines U21 raced to an early lead, and continued punishing Nigeria U21's defense in the next quarters. The lead swelled by as much as 56 points in the fourth quarter.

6 Filipino players scored in double-digits. Cornelio Porminal, for the first time, led the scoring mob with 21 points, while collecting 5 rebounds and 2 assists. This was also the first time he didn't start the game, but he was still effective in limited minutes, nonetheless. Boen Chong started again at SG, adding 17 points to his name, while Archimedes Pumar contributed 16 points and 7 rebounds.

Benigno Sasabo towered over the opposition and finished the game with 9 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, and a whopping 7 blocks. Bill Guerrero, who just recovered from an injury a few days ago, shook off the rust, started the game and grabbed 14 boards to help Sasabo on the rebounding department. Gabo Familar was once again tasked to lead Philippines U21's offense, as he paced the team with 12 points and 6 assists.

Timothy Akuoma, Allah Sanusi, Robert Ugbo and James Onoriode were tasked to carry the scoring load against Philippines U21, but the burden was too much as the latter locked in on the defensive end. Akuoma scored 18 markers, while Sanusi added 17 points. Ugbo had a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Onoriode got a near double-double of 12 points and 9 assists.

As mentioned earlier, Philippines U21 will take on Italia U21 on the 19th of August, 1:30 AM (Manila Time). The next games are tougher from here on out, so your support for our National teams is much needed.

Points Leaders:
Cornelio Porminal - 21 points
Boen Chong - 17 points
Archimedes Pumar - 16 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Benigno Sasabo - 16 rebounds
Bill Guerrero - 14 rebounds
Feliciano Gaitano - 11 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Gabo Familar - 6 assists
Andre Hogan Sevilla - 5 assists
Raphael Duruelo - 4 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Thank you very much! You're also doing great with Canada U21. ;)

We'll have a tough road ahead, but we keep going!

Pietro Lecci's 31-point outburst sends Philippines U21 back down to Earth, 63-94 (81049)

Oslo, Norway -- The "storm" has now started on the Philippines U21 side, starting with the #2 world-ranked Italy U21. It was a competitive first quarter, but Philippines U21 fell into a downward spiral from second quarter until the finish, ending the game with a 31-point beating, 63-94.

It didn't help that Philippines U21's starting guard, Gabo Familar, went down after a wayward hit from Italy U21's Paolo Lucardi after the former attempted a fade-away shot. Familar left the game at 4:37 mark in the first quarter, and didn't return to the game.

With this loss, Philippines U21 will now sport a 3-2 win-loss record, tied with Israel U21, which makes next week's game a very important one for both teams. The last two spots for the second round are still up for grabs though with Bosna i Hercegovina U21 and Magyarország (Hungary) U21 just one game behind Philippines U21 and Israel U21. Hong Kong U21 and Italy U21 are currently occupying the top two spots with 5-0 and 4-1 records, respectively, and with how these two teams are playing, looks like they have tightly secured those spots.

Italy U21's lead guard, Pietro Lecci, made mincemeat of Philippines U21's defense, scoring 31 points on 11 of 26 field goal shooting. He also added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Balthasar Barborka contributed 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals, while Paolo Lucardi scored 10 points. Italy U21's bench got some action as everyone, except one player, scored. Another glaring bright spot for Italy U21 was their defense, as they limited Philippines U21 to just 26.1% field goal shooting and 15.8% from beyond the arc. As a team, they also swatted 19 shots, compared to Philippines U21 with only 1 measly block.

Cornelio Porminal closed the game with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Archimedes Pumar started at power forward in this game and made a good account of himself by securing a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double. Andre Hogan Sevilla, who replaced Gabo Familar after the latter got injured, had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Positive note for Philippines U21 in this game was their rebounding, with Benigno Sasabo, Ken Nicolas and Archimedes Pumar gobbling 39 out of the 57 team rebounds, while Italy U21, as a team, grabbed 56 rebounds.

Philippines U21's next assignment will be a crucial tiff against Israel U21 on the 26th of August, 1:30 AM (Manila Time). Please support our National teams!

Points Leaders:
Cornelio Porminal - 17 points
Archimedes Pumar - 10 points
Andre Hogan Sevilla - 9 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Benigno Sasabo - 15 rebounds
Archimedes Pumar - 13 rebounds
Ken Nicolas - 11 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Andre Hogan Sevilla - 3 assists
Raphael Duruelo - 3 assists
Boen Chong - 2 assists
Gabo Familar - 2 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo