Gilas U16 falls short vs Japan, drops to playoffs for QF spot

Japan spoiled the late comeback of the Gilas Pilipinas U16 team, 73-67, on Tuesday in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship in Qatar.

Down 69-59 with less than three minutes left, Gilas went as close as just four points, 71-67, with less than a minute left. However, a jump shot from Eljiro Ogawa at the 00:03 mark sealed the deal for Japan.

Caelum Harris posted 18 points and six rebounds while Jared Bahay and Zain Mahmood tallied 12 and 10 points each.

Yuto Kawashima led Japan with a game-high 26 points and 18 rebounds, while Ogawa had 14 points.

Gilas will play Kazakhstan on Thursday in the playoffs for a quarterfinals berth. The winner of the said match will face Australia.

—JMB, GMA News