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Thank you very much! You're also doing great with Canada U21. ;)

We'll have a tough road ahead, but we keep going!

Pietro Lecci's 31-point outburst sends Philippines U21 back down to Earth, 63-94 (81049)

Oslo, Norway -- The "storm" has now started on the Philippines U21 side, starting with the #2 world-ranked Italy U21. It was a competitive first quarter, but Philippines U21 fell into a downward spiral from second quarter until the finish, ending the game with a 31-point beating, 63-94.

It didn't help that Philippines U21's starting guard, Gabo Familar, went down after a wayward hit from Italy U21's Paolo Lucardi after the former attempted a fade-away shot. Familar left the game at 4:37 mark in the first quarter, and didn't return to the game.

With this loss, Philippines U21 will now sport a 3-2 win-loss record, tied with Israel U21, which makes next week's game a very important one for both teams. The last two spots for the second round are still up for grabs though with Bosna i Hercegovina U21 and Magyarország (Hungary) U21 just one game behind Philippines U21 and Israel U21. Hong Kong U21 and Italy U21 are currently occupying the top two spots with 5-0 and 4-1 records, respectively, and with how these two teams are playing, looks like they have tightly secured those spots.

Italy U21's lead guard, Pietro Lecci, made mincemeat of Philippines U21's defense, scoring 31 points on 11 of 26 field goal shooting. He also added 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Balthasar Barborka contributed 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals, while Paolo Lucardi scored 10 points. Italy U21's bench got some action as everyone, except one player, scored. Another glaring bright spot for Italy U21 was their defense, as they limited Philippines U21 to just 26.1% field goal shooting and 15.8% from beyond the arc. As a team, they also swatted 19 shots, compared to Philippines U21 with only 1 measly block.

Cornelio Porminal closed the game with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Archimedes Pumar started at power forward in this game and made a good account of himself by securing a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double. Andre Hogan Sevilla, who replaced Gabo Familar after the latter got injured, had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Positive note for Philippines U21 in this game was their rebounding, with Benigno Sasabo, Ken Nicolas and Archimedes Pumar gobbling 39 out of the 57 team rebounds, while Italy U21, as a team, grabbed 56 rebounds.

Philippines U21's next assignment will be a crucial tiff against Israel U21 on the 26th of August, 1:30 AM (Manila Time). Please support our National teams!

Points Leaders:
Cornelio Porminal - 17 points
Archimedes Pumar - 10 points
Andre Hogan Sevilla - 9 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Benigno Sasabo - 15 rebounds
Archimedes Pumar - 13 rebounds
Ken Nicolas - 11 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Andre Hogan Sevilla - 3 assists
Raphael Duruelo - 3 assists
Boen Chong - 2 assists
Gabo Familar - 2 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Damnnn malas.. Dibale, bawi tayo next game!

Yes bossing, babawi tayo. May chance pa tayong makapasok sa second round. ;)

bounce back coach, italia u21 built diff but we still have time to improve

Drukman's clutch shots give Israel U21 a one-way second round entry, while Philippines U21 continues skid (81053)

Oslo, Norway -- For Philippines U21 and Israel U21, the assignment was very clear: Win this game to gain a ticket to the second round of the U21 World Championship tournament. In the end, Israel U21 claimed the important win over Philippines U21, 74-66. Philippines U21 still has a chance to make it to the second round, but their fate will be determined next week.

Philippines U21 was once again off to a slow start, which is a recurring theme in most Philippines U21 games, regardless of the game results. The Filipinos were within striking distance until the last 1 minute, but Israel U21 thwarted any comeback effort via late back-to-back jumpers and free throws by Israel U21's starting 2-guard, Avinoam Drukman.

Ivan Strool shows off his all-around game for Israel U21. He collected 17 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Ram Twily got 16 points and 8 rebounds despite playing off the bench, while Avinoam Drukman added 11 points, in which 6 of them were in the final minute of the game.

Cornelio Porminal and Boen Chong were the only double-digit scorers for Philippines U21, with 16, and 10 points, respectively. Philippines U21, as a team, only shot 28.4% field goals as they had a difficult time navigating through Israel U21's defense.

With this loss, the 4th spot in Pool B is still up for grabs, with Philippines U21 (3-3), Magyarország (Hungary) U21 (2-4), Bosna i Hercegovina (Bosnia) U21 (2-4), and Brasil U21 (2-4) in contention. This makes next week's (2nd of September) games a very exciting day of BB basketball. Here are the important matches in Pool B (all of them at 1:30 AM, Manila time):

Philippines U21 (3-3) vs Bosnia U21 (2-4)
Hungary U21 (2-4) vs Italy U21 (5-1)
Brasil U21 (2-4) vs Nigeria U21 (0-5)

Currently, Philippines U21 sits at 4th. A loss next week will tie them with Bosnia U21, and possibly with Hungary U21 (if they win against Italy U21), and Brasil U21 (if they win against Nigeria U21). In this case, the point difference will matter, and currently, Philippines U21 also has the edge over the other teams in contention.

However, if Philippines U21 wins, they avoid all the point differential complications and moves on to the second round. A win is a must, but Bosnia U21 is also a tough team to beat. With this in mind, we ask to support both U21 and Seniors team.

Points Leaders:
Cornelio Porminal - 16 points
Boen Chong - 10 points
Nyle Tagle - 9 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Benigno Sasabo - 14 rebounds
Bill Guerrero - 9 rebounds
Gabo Familar - 6 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Gabo Familar - 5 assists
Cornelio Porminal - 4 assists
Benigno Sasabo - 3 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo