By REYNALD MAGALLON
The Gilas Pilipinas Boys team bowed out of contention in the 2025 FIBA U16 Asia Cup as the Filipinos ran out of steam against Bahrain, 79-66, in the qualification for the quarterfinals at the Mbank Arena in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on Thursday, Sept. 4.
The Nationals trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter but managed to cut the lead down to just six inside the last two minutes only for Bahrain to shut the door on them behind a 7-0 finishing kick.
With the loss, Gilas not only finished the tournament on a 1-3 record but also failed to qualify to the FIBA U17 World Cup. The Nationals also failed to replicate their Top 4 finish in the last edition in 2023.
Its lone win came at the expense of Indonesia in the group stage although it lost against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand to finish at the third spot of the Group B standings.
Mohamed Adel Abdulla proved to be the biggest thorn to the side of Gilas, dropping 22 points to go with five rebounds and four steals while three other Bahrain players finished in double figures with 15 each.
Jolo Pascual was the only double-digit scorer for Gilas with 10 points while Jhustin Hallare had nine.
Gilas actually engaged Bahrain to a nip-and-tuck affair through two and a half quarters before the opposing team unloaded an 18-3 run to dig a 64-47 hole for Gilas after an even 44-all count.
The Nationals did stay within striking distance behind a 7-0 start in the fourth and even cut the lead down to six, 66-72 with 1:41 left. Gilas, however, seemingly lost steam and failed to score in its last few possessions.
