RP U18 bows to Korea at the FIBA U18 quarterfinals

The Philippine U-18 team struggled on the defensive end at the 22nd FIBA U18 Championship quarterfinals Friday, yielding to a hot-shooting Korean squad, 90-77 in Mongolia The Koreans piled on more than 20 points per quarter to leave the Philippines playing catch-up the entire game. The Philippines found themselves down by only six at the half, before struggling on the offensive in the third quarter, hitting only 14 points to Korea's 22 to enter the fourth down 14, 69-55. The Nationals made up for their poor shooting in the final period, chalking up 22 of their own, but the squad failed to take care of the defensive end, yielding 21 to the cruising Koreans. The Philippines shot a good 30-of-67 from two-point territory, but struggled to find their long range shots for a 2-of-16 3-point shooting clip. Perhaps the most glaring statistic came from the free throw stripe. The taller Koreans took care of the paint, giving the Philippines only 13 chances from the foul line while claiming 24-of-37 for themselves. FEU Baby Tam Jerie Pingoy led the Philippines with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while NU Bullpup Rey Nambatac chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds and a steal. Jonghyun Lee paced the Koreans with 26 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks, while Junyong Choi and Hoon Heo added 17 and 15, respectively. With the defeat, the RP squad now has a 4-2 win-loss record. The best finish the Philippines can hope for is fifth place in an original pool of 16 teams. - AMD, GMA News