Gilas Pilipinas Youth pulled off a come-from-behind 64-59 stunner over Japan to reach the semifinals round of the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship on Friday night (Saturday, Manila Time) at the Al-Rayyan Indoor Hall in Doha, Qatar.
The quarterfinal win of the Josh Reyes-led Gilas Pilipinas Youth team also secured them a spot in the FIBA Under-17 World Cup slated for next year in Turkey.
Kieffer Alas produced another solid performance for the Gilas Pilipinas Youth, as he tallied 29 points to go with nine rebounds, three assists, one steal, and a block.
The University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs tandem of Joaquin Ludovice and Kurt Nathan Velasquez also produced double-digit outputs of 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Both teams were engaged in a tight exchange in the first quarter for a 16-all score, but Japan went on a massive 19-9 scoring run in the second frame for a 35-25 halftime lead.
Gilas Pilipinas Youth mounted a huge run in the third period as they outscored the Japanese, 21-10, to take a 46-45 advantage before they came up with timely hits in the endgame to secure the upset win.
The Philippine Under-16 basketball team will next battle Australia in the semifinals round at 12:30 am on Sunday (Manila time).
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