Batang Gilas Secures FIBA Asia Slot as they win against Thailand in SEABA U-18 Finals.
Laban Batang Gilas. The Philippine national junior basketball team came for an easy win to secure a slot for the upcoming FIBA Asia Under-18 Tournament against Thailand, 86-49, becoming the champion in the recently concluded Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) finals.
Batang Gilas went on an unbeaten run in SEABA routing Thailand in the Finals on Thursday in Medan, Indonesia.
Joshue Sinclair of the Batang Gilas led the team with 15 points with six rebounds backed up by John Bahio who finished with a double-double of 12 markers and 13 boards.
In their campaign opener, Batang Gilas lambasted the Thais in the elimination round with 101-45 making the Philippine Junior team as the top contender.
The Batang Gilas determined to win the top slot also toppled down the team from Laos for their biggest lead of 81 points in the tournament.
The team also reigned supreme over all of its 6 games in the competition against the teams from Malaysia, Singapore and host country Indonesia by an average margin of 44.7 points for a spot in the FIBA that will open on July this year in Iran.
The team from the Philippines finished first to secure their spot while trailing behind are Thailand and Indonesia, qualified also for the FIBA Asia.
Batang Gilas will work to bring back the top quarterfinal finish which was once achieved by the 2014 squad led by teen sensation Kobe Paras in the FIBA Asia.