Philippines falls to Chinese Taipei but still advances in FIBA Asia U16

The Philippine Under-16 team fell 95-90 to Chinese Taipei, Friday (Saturday, PHL time) at the Azadi Sport Complex in Iran, Tehran, but still advanced to the second round of the FIBA Asia U16 Championship.

The loss gave the Philippines a 1-1 card in the group stage, after beating Kazakhstan the previous day, and it was enough to put them in the second round, along with Japan, Jordan and India.

Down two points at the start of the fourth period, the Philippines quickly equalized via a Jolo Mendoza make, 68-all, and then later on, tied things again thanks to Mike Nieto charities. That was as close as they'd get though, as Taipei built an eight-point buffer, 87-79, with 2:30 left to play.

A two-pointer by Diego Dario halved their deficit, 1:11 to go, 87-83, but steady foul shooting by their foes, and a jump ball that went Taipei's way for a two-pointer put them up by seven, 93-86, with 19 seconds left. Four by Mike Nieto got the Philippines within three, but it was much too late, and Hsu Cheng-Shun added a conversion at the buzzer to put this one away.

Mike Nieto had a double-double to lead the Philippines, 26 points and 16 rebounds. Paul Desiderio poured in 21 points and nine rebounds, while Jolo Mendoza chimed in with 18 on 8-of-13 shooting. Richard Escoto also compiled a double-double, with 12 points and 15 rebounds. However, the bench of the Philippines had little to offer, with just 10 points, compared to the 32 of Chinese Taipei.

Tu Ssu-Han had a game-high 29 markers for the Chinese Taipei cause. - AMD, GMA News