The Gilas Pilipinas U16 team had no answer for China in the bronze medal match. FIBA.
The Gilas Pilipinas Under-16 squad fell to China once more, 87-59, in the bronze medal match of the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship, Sunday in Doha, Qatar.
The Gilas Boys were within striking distance after the first quarter where they trailed by just three points, 20-17.
But China pulled away via a 24-12 second quarter, and the Philippines were unable to recover. China limited them to just eight points in the third frame and eventually led by as much as 38 points in the contest.
It's the Filipinos' second loss to China in the tournament; they also dropped their first match to the Asian powerhouse, 84-67, last September 17.
The Gilas Boys won their next four games after that defeat, including a breakthrough 95-71 upset of South Korea in the playoffs and a come-from-behind 64-59 stunner over Japan in the quarterfinals.
Though they lost to Australia, 92-36, in the semifinals, they are already qualified to next year's FIBA Under-17 World Cup by virtue of reaching the tournament's last four.
Kieffer Alas had 13 points but shot just 5-of-19 from the field for the Gilas Boys, while Joaquin Ludovice had 15 points and Irus Chua added 10. They shot just 31.43% from the field and were out-rebounded 54-31 by China.
Boyuan Zhang torched Gilas for 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including 7-of-9 from long distance.