By REYNALD MAGALLON
The Gilas Pilipinas boys team suffered its first taste of defeat after getting blown out by Australia, 107-69 in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup at the Veer Savarkar Stadium in Ahmedabad in India on Saturday, Aug. 15.
The Nationals managed to keep in step through the first frame but quickly lost steam against the No.8 team in the world.
Down only five, 19-25, after the first 10 minutes, the Filipinos struggled against the defense of their bigger and more athletic counterpart who broke the game wide open with a 32-15 scoring in the second frame.
Australia, which led by as many as 42, never looked back from there to remain undefeated through two games while Gilas dropped to a 1-1 slate.
Luke Atacador and George Aidan Green paced Gilas with 12 apiece while first game hero Ethan Aguas was limited to just six points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field.
Seven players scored in double figures for Australia led by Yahya Basarang who fired 17 while John Aryang added 16 and Bailey Hanson chipping in 14.
Gilas takes a day break before taking on Southeast Asian rival Thailand in a crucial tiff where a spot in the qualification for the quarterfinals is at stake.
