FIBA U19: Gilas Pilipinas Youth falls short anew, loses to Argentina

By Kevin Sox

The U19 team of Gilas Pilipinas once again came up short in the 2019 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Heraklion, falling to another international powerhouse team in Argentina, 77-72 on Monday early morning.

Argentina set the tempo early on, going on an 18-7 lead halfway in the opening quarter to establish control while the Philippines played catch up throughout.

The South Americans maintained a double-digit cushion until the 4th quarter, with a triple from Lucas Reyes making it a sizable 68-53 lead with over 6 minutes remaining.

But Gilas showed heart once again, trying to fight back and steal the game. A Sean Ildefonso lay-up followed by a Gerry Abadiano three cut the deficit down to 73-69 with only 33 ticks left.

But Reyes sank 4 straight free throws to seal the victory.

Sean Ildefonso led the nationals with 22 points on 8/15 shooting and 10 rebounds. Kai Sotto added 17 points, 8 boards, and 6 blocks.

Marco Giordano led the Argentinians with 18 points while Reyes and Francisco Farabello both notched 15.

The Filipinos will take a day off before rounding out their group stages campaign against Russia on Wednesday.