Philippines falls short vs top seed Netherlands

The Philippines had numerous chances to complete an upset but it just couldn't get its shots to fall at a critical stretch in a 13-10 loss to the Netherlands in the FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Cup in Chengdu, China on Wednesday.

Trailing 10-6, the Filipinos refused to go away by launching a 4-0 run capped by AJ Edu's bucket to tie the contest.

AJ Edu and Batang Gilas gave their best but couldn't get the job done against their more rested Dutch opponents. Courtesy of the FIBA website

Maik Bouwer gave the Netherlands back the lead, before his free throw sealed win No. 2 for the tournament's top seed. In between, though, the Philippines found itself in prime position to either go ahead after Edu's game-tying basket or level the score, but the Batang Gilas' close-range shots fell short or rimmed out.

Juan Gomez di Liano scored 4 points and Encho Serrano added 3 for the No. 7 seed Philippines, who returned to the court less than 2 hours after pulling off a hard-fought win over Israel.

At the end of Day 1, the Philippines ended up tied with Israel and Poland with an identical 1-1 record in Pool A. The Netherlands (2-0) is first, while Turkmenistan (0-2) is in last place.

The Philippines next play on Friday, when Edu and crew battle Poland (7:10 p.m.) and Turkmenistan (8:15 p.m.).

Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/28/17/fiba-3x3-under-18-philippines-falls-short-vs-top-seed-netherlands