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RP-U21 use key runs to thwart Indonesian challenge

The Pilipinas Under-21 National Team notched their first win in the Round Robin stage of the Asian U21 Championships for Season 58 as they took down Indonesia, 102-87.

It was the interior advantage of the Indonesians that took on the speed and shooting of the Filipinos in the opening assignment of both squads for the new campaign.

Indonesia would take the upper hand early, as their bigs Husaini Bowoleksono and Zainudin Silaban were able to establish themselves underneath and created chances off of the touches they received down low en route to a 24-19 tally in their favor at the end of the first.

But the Filipinos would mount a furious second quarter surge that saw them score 36 points, built on the 16-point output by JC Guardamano in the period, which would enable the RP Youth squad to notch a seven-point edge at the interval, 55-48.

The 3rd period saw Indonesia fight back in the early minutes to come to within three points of the Philippines, 57-54. But the Philippines' outside shooting would not only keep the Indonesians at bay, but would also enable them to build a huge lead on the back of a 12-0 run over the last four and a half minutes of the penultimate quarter to take a 79-63 advantage entering the final period.

The final quarter proved to be too close for comfort as Indonesia again clawed their way to come to within six of the Filipinos, 89-83. But the Filipinos would connect with another gut-wrenching 13-4 run over the same four and a half minute span of the ball game to pull away for good.

Guardamano would topscore for the Philippines with 31 points on 57% shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. He is backstopped by Atoy Padrera who scored 17 points and Irvin Portugal with 13. Chester Fabella and Raphael Novilla would notch 12 and 10 points, respectively to round-up the double-digit scorers for Team Pilipinas in the game.

The National Youth Team will return to action in a week's time as they face the India National Team up next.

Great article as always. Are you a blogger? If not, you should be!

Pilipinas U21 falls short against Indian challenge

A determined India U-21 National squad took to the floor and proved their worth all-game long as they took down the Philippines U21 side, 106-92 as the Round Robin Stage in Pool B play continued at the Asian U21 Championships for Season 58.

The Filipinos were once again sluggish coming out of the gates in the opening quarter, surrendering a seven-point gap at the end of the first 12 minutes of play on the strength of their frontline beanpoles Sathiyadev Naskar and Ishudhi Saxena, who scored six each in the period.

The Indians would establish a 10-point lead midway into the second period, 34-24, but opening game hero JC Guardamano would engineer a run that would cut the deficit to five, 38-33. India would re-establish their largest lead later in the quarter, and just as a CM Fabella jumper would cut the deficit again to seven, 48-41, a Vadish Rath buzzer-beating tip-in would extend the lead back to nine, 50-41, entering the interval.

The second half saw not much luck for the Filipinos as the lead ballooned to 14 points on multiple occasions. Their last attempt at a comeback came with around seven minutes left in the game as an Atoy Pradrera layup made it 86-77, but a back-breaking 20-9 run in the ensuing five and a half minutes of the game proved to be too much to handle for the Filipinos.

The Philippines shot only 33% from the field and 34% from distance, which was below their clip of 54% overall and 46% from deep against Indonesia. Guardanamo proved to be a consistent scoring threat with 31 points, followed by Fabio Espero's 14. Fabella would score 13 points and grab 16 rebounds while Pradrera's 11 rounds up the double-digit scorers for the Philippines.

Their Indian counterparts were led by Ishudhi Saxena with 25 points and 16 boards, followed by Gabhastimata Vayunandan's 24 markers. Rath would have a double-double as well of 15 points and 17 rebounds as three other Indian players scored in double figures.

The loss evens out their card at 1-1. They will return to action next week as they take on Taiwan's U-21 team up next.

Great article,
I am very happy to win with a representation as strong as yours. I was afraid of a match with your national team, but my players that I have in my team are good basketball players and they faced such a big challenge.
Best regards from Poland
Paweł