DOHA: In an exciting encounter, Qatar narrowly lost to the Philippines 79-82 in a Group F Second Round game of the 23rd FIBA Asia U18 Championship at Al Gharafa Stadium yesterday.
The Philippines team had great support thanks to the large Filipino diaspora living in Doha. But for all the cheers from the stands, it eventually took two overanxious defensive gaffes from Qatar, which handed two fortuitous successive throw-ins, for the Philippines to eke out the win.
Having sacrificed caution for flair and flamboyance, Philippines almost paid a huge price for it before surviving by the skin of their teeth.
China, Korea and Iran, the three medallists of the 22nd FIBA Asia U18 Championship in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, meanwhile, kept their unbeaten run going with rather facile wins.
China overpowered Jordan 97-55, Iran powered their way past Hong Kong 107-42 and Korea closed the day with a 104-61 win over Malaysia.
Mohammed Abdulrahman Saad had an impressive day on the floor for Qatar with a tournament-high 35 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals but in his anxiety to take control of the situation stretched too far on two back-to-back instances with less than half a minute left on the clock.
Ranbill Tongco and Paul Desiderio capped a 13-point night, each capitalising on the Qatari hand-outs — the first one to bring Philippines close at 78-79 and the second to take them 80-79 ahead — before Tongco himself along with Kobe Paras sank one of the two free-throws each to win it for the Philippines.
Qatar coach Brian Lester — famous for his work with age-group teams in Malaysia in the early 2000s — certainly enhanced his reputation as a coach who can instil defence discipline in the team and inspire them to play safe and steady offense. Qatar held firm against the pressure of the crowd.
Philippines looked completely like fish out of water for the better part of the first period, when they went down by as many 10 points. Kobe Paras’ twin free throws gave them the lead for the first time only with two minutes left in the first half and with the team playing to the gallery and the players getting carried away with the support, Philippines never looked to be in control of the game.
The win boosted Philippines’ chances of a place in the quarter-final with games at hand against China today, followed by a match against Malaysia tomorrow. Qatar play last edition’s silver medallists Korea today and Jordan tomorrow.
THE PENINSULA
