We were overwhelming underdogs going into the game, but surprisingly our boys held tight to give Philippines U21 their smallest victory of the season. Things looked positive from the start as both teams traded blows and exchanged leads, however the visitors triumphed took advantage of their quality in the post to snag a 70-84 win.
We are the only other team to have held them to below 40% from field this season, with Australia U21 holding them to 34% in their only loss of the season. However, despite standing tough on defense, our boys faltered in gaining possession, allowing them to grab 21 offensive rebounds to atone for their offensive shortcomings.
Ang An Da was our best player out there hitting a game high 17 points from an efficient 8 of 15 from field. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 3 assists. Chua How Feng also had an efficient game as the sixth man, hitting 6 of 8 from field to score 12 points. Meanwhile Png Rong cemented his status as our defensive stalwart, putting in a marvelous defensive performance with 4 blocks, 2 steals and 8 defensive rebounds (10 total rebounds). After hitting double figures in his previous 3 outings for the country, Nathan Macklin somehow ran dry, shooting 18% from field (4 of 22) and only hitting 1 of his 4 free throws. He also missed all of his 4 shots from outside. That said, it was quite a mystery as to how our players missed their free throws all night, with most of them being top shooters at U21 level. On the other side, our opponents hit most of theirs, and this ultimately gave them the win.
We will be facing Lebanon U21 next. Let's hope all our players will be in great game shape.