PHL U-18 five stifle Indonesia, clinch SEABA crown

The Philippines’ Under-18 basketball team defeated Indonesia, 81-57, successfully defending their South East Asian Basketball Association Championship on Saturday at the Singapore Basketball Center. National University recruit JJ Alejandro led the team with his four triples and a game-high 18 points. Letran Squire Rey Nambatac contributed 15 points, while University of the Philippines player Kyle Suarez had 13 points and nine rebounds. The youth team outscored their opponents in the paint, 36-20, and had 20 assists to show for a quality team effort on offense. They also limited Indonesia to just eight points in the final period, punctuating a dominant run throughout the tournament. Alejandro and Nambatac combined for three treys and scored all the Philippines’ points in an early 13-6 run. After a couple of trips to the line by Indonesia cut the lead to four, Hubert Cani scored four of the Philippines’ next 11 points to keep the Indons at bay, 22-15, at the end of the first. In the second period, the Nationals missed a lot of easy shots down low and tallied only 13 points, their lowest quarter output in this campaign. Although Kevin Sitorus made the lone basket for Indonesia in the paint, they hung around by converting four charities with under three minutes in the half. Alejandro buffered the lead with another trey to maintain a slim 34-28 advantage. The Nationals came alive again when play resumed after the break. Remy Morada and Nambatac combined for nine points in a 12-4 run, capped by a trey from the right wing by Suarez to open a 46-32 advantage. Suarez would make another trey and combine with UE’s RR De Leon to score seven of the Philippines’ next 15 points, bringing the tally to 61-49 after three quarters. In the fourth, the Philippine team’s dominant defense came into play once more, as they cruised to victory in the game’s twilight period. The sweep gives the Philippines a berth to the FIBA Asia Cup to be held in Ulan Bator, Mongola, this August. The Under-18 team defeated Laos, Singapore and Malaysia by an average of 37.8 points, a margin bolstered by a crushing 96-point win against the Laotians. Jan Misael Panagan led Indonesia with 13 points. - AMD, GMA News The scores: Philippines 81: Alejandro 18, Nambatac 15, Suarez 13, Lao 7, Cani 7, De Leon 5, Morada 5, Javelosa 4, Rivero 4, Bonleon 4, Olayon 0, Go 0 Indonesia 57: Panagan 13. Andriano 9, Kokodiputro 8, Dei 6, Seputra 6, Kosasih 5, Sitorus 5, Baskoro 3, Abraham 0, Halim 0, Pratama 0 Quarter scores: 22-15, 34-28, 61-49, 81-57