FIBA Asia U16: Japan takes away Bronze from Philippines

Japan U16 finishes 3rd (Bronze Medal)

         Energen-Sponsored Philippines suffered a 94-81 loss to Japan Friday in their bronze medal match in the 2nd FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship at the Khanh Hoa Sports Center in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

          The Philippines failed to duplicate its 83-72 win over the Japanese in the second round. The Olsen Racela-mentored squad, which entered the final round with a 5-0 card, also dropped its second straight game in the tournament following a 67-58 setback to South Korea in the semifinals Thursday night. They duplicated the fourth-place finish of the Kiefer Ravena-led Under-16 Philippine team in 2009 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

         Philippines had a hot start and even led by five after the opening period, 16-11. They trailed Japan by one, 32-31, at the turn. But the Japanese, who used a similar zone defense that stymied the Filipinos one night earlier against Korea, opened up a huge 20-point advantage behind the three-point shooting of Daiki Kaneko at the close of the 3rd quarter. But they failed to match Japan's offensive onslaught in the second half as their opponents zoomed to a 62-42 spread after 30 minutes of play. But the Filipinos would not go down without a fight. With big man Jay Javelosa playing limited minutes because of foul trouble, Energen Pilipinas coach Olsen Racela took a chance on a small-ball lineup in the fourth quarter to try to quicken the pace and force turnovers.With athletic small forward Jordan Heading manning the paint and captain J-Jay Alejandro, Kyles Lao, Rev Diputado and Hubert Cani on the floor, Energen Pilipinas launched a strong fourth quarter comeback as the small five applied a deadly pressing defense that allowed the Philippines to close the gap to just eight at 85-77. But Japan would make enough baskets yielded by the high-risk, gambling pressure defense to stay ahead and seal the win.
          

        
        Daiki Kaneko shot 8-of-15 from the three-point range to finish with a game-high 25 points to lead Japan to victory. He also had five rebounds and five assists. Yusei Sugiura and Keita Shinkawa added 21 and 16 markers each while Yudai Baba tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds.

        Janhubert Angelo Cani and Kyles Jefferson Lao finished with 16 points each for the Philippines while Rodolfo Alejandro III backed them up with 14 markers. Adven Jess Diputado and Rashleigh Paolo Rivero scored 10 apiece with the latter also grabbing seven rebounds.

The Scores:

JAPAN (94) — Kaneko 25, Suguira 21, Baba 17, Shinkawa 16, Aoki 7, Shirato 6, Chikui 2.

PHILIPPINES (81) — Cani 16, Lao 16, Alejandro 14, Diputado 10, Rivero 10, Heading 7, Asilum 6, Ramos 2.

Quarters: 11-16, 32-31, 62-42, 94-81.