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Pilipinas U21 rides the Wave to Victory, surges past Bahamas U21, 93-78 (75463)

Nassau, Bahamas -- It was an opportunity for Pilipinas U21 players and coaching staff to loosen up a bit with a short vacation on the beautiful coastlines of Nassau. It was indeed a much-needed rest as the Philippine-based team looked refreshed and focused. They won handily over Bahamas U21, 93-78, and now both teams hold a 2-1 win-loss record.

In the post-game interview, Coach Leo commended the efforts of his team, especially Manny Emil Ricamona for his defense on Bahamas U21 star, Richard Thomas. In his previous 2 games, Thomas scored 23 points on each of them, with decent FG%. But in this game, he was just limited to only 17 points, on 7 of 27 shooting clip, 3 of 15 from beyond the arc.

Wang Tiankai led Pilipinas U21 in scoring with 26 points on 12 of 23 field goal shooting. He was aggressive from the get-go, scoring the first 7 points for the Filipinos, but his foul woes kept him from being aggressive in the majority of the game. June Elle contributed 25 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Allan Camilo Onganon was doing his best Dennis Rodman impersonation with 0 points and 19 rebounds.

For the Bahamas U21 team, Richard Thomas was their leading scorer with 17 points, and followed by Scott Tran with a 15 points, 16 rebounds double-double, but was saddled with 5 fouls in the 2nd half.

Pilipinas U21's next game in the Consolation Tournament will be against Macedonia U21, July 15, 5:30pm (Manila time) and will be held in Manila, Philippines. See you there and continue to support our National Teams!

Points Leaders:
Wang Tiankai - 26 points
June Elle - 25 points
Froilan Villablanca - 14 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Allan Camilo Onganon - 19 rebounds
Lucio Chiu - 10 rebounds
Niel Tajo - 7 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Manny Emil Ricamona - 5 assists
June Elle - 4 assists
Allan Camilo Onganon - 3 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Last edited by Leo (Pilipinas U21 Coach) at 7/29/2024 8:23:53 AM

Froilan Villablanca scores 26 points as Philippines U21 takes down Macedonia U21, 92-66 (75536)

Manila, Philippines -- Macedonia U21 kept the game close at the first half, only trailing by 4 points, 40-44. But, second half was a different story. Philippines U21 outscored the Macedonians in the 2nd half, 48-26 to secure a big win at home, 92-66. As it stands, Philippines U21 will now sport a 3-1 record, while Macedonia U21 drops to 2-2.

Froilan Villablanca powers the Philippine-side with a game-high 26 points. He was 11 of 19 from the floor and made 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. He also dished out 3 assists. Manny Emil Ricamona dished out game-high 11 assists and also scored 16 points, on 6 of 11 field goal shooting. Wang Tiankai provided spark off the bench with 15 points. Allan Camilo Onganon had 12 rebounds but had 5 fouls early in the 1st half.

Vangel Videski, who led the Macedonians in scoring with 17 points, gave Onganon a difficult time as he outmuscled him in several occassions, leading to the latter getting into early foul trouble. Sande Chilimanov and Bogatin Mihajlovski scored 16 and 10 points, respectively.

Pilipinas U21's next game in the Consolation Tournament will be against Ghana U21, July 23, 3:00am (Manila time) and will be held in the historic capital city of Ghana, Accra. See you there and continue to support our National Teams!

Points Leaders:
Froilan Villablanca - 26 points
Manny Emil Ricamona - 16 points
Wang Tiankai - 15 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Allan Camilo Onganon - 12 rebounds
Lucio Chiu - 11 rebounds
Armando Barberán - 11 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Manny Emil Ricamona - 11 assists
June Elle - 5 assists
Froilan Villablanca - 3 assists
Rennor Baya - 3 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Last edited by Leo (Pilipinas U21 Coach) at 7/29/2024 8:23:31 AM

Congrats Coach what a Huge Win ;) 3 game winstreak is on

Great win Coach Leo!

Salamat mga boss! Good contributions from Baya and Chiu ;)

Philippines U21 gets 4th straight win, drubs Ghana U21, 121-57 (75579)

Accra, Ghana -- Pilipinas U21 left Ghana U21 in the dust, and never looked back, as they secured a wire-to-wire win over the Ghana-based team, 121-57.

Wang Tiankai stays red hot as he leads the Pinoys in scoring with 21 points on 10 of 13 shooting clip. Niel Tajo, amassed a game-high 23 rebounds with 19 points, and that's coming off the bench. Newcomer Eli Anthony, or as Coach Leo calls him, "Carm-Eli Anthony" scored 16 points, all in the 2nd half. Froilan Villablanca didn't score that much, but was content sharing the rock with 10 assists, 7 in the 1st quarter alone. Pilipinas U21's win-loss record now stands at 4-1, which gives them a better chance of entering the Knockout rounds with a decent seed.

Bouba Diagne led Ghana U21 in scoring with 14 points, followed by Amadou Diallo with 13 points and Soulemagne Konaté with 12 points. Ghana U21 drops down to 2-3 in the standings.

Coach Leo, when asked about the new additions on the team, said he wanted to give them some playing time because they've been training hard the past few weeks. Regarding guard Ricaredo Esguera, who didn't play in this game, Coach Leo mentioned he'll get minutes in the next few games. He also mentioned that he will stick with this 15-man roster for a long while, probably until before the knockout rounds.

For next week, we are back in our home turf vs India U21, July 29, 5:30 PM (Manila time). See you there and continue to support our National Teams!

Points Leaders:
Wang Tiankai - 21 points
Niel Tajo - 19 points
Eli Anthony - 16 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Niel Tajo - 23 rebounds
Lucio Chiu - 15 rebounds
Allan Camilo Onganon - 12 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Froilan Villablanca - 10 assists
Rennor Baya - 4 assists
Eric García - 4 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Last edited by Leo (Pilipinas U21 Coach) at 7/29/2024 8:23:09 AM

Philippines U21 cruised past hapless India U21, 125-34 (75614)

Manila, Philippines -- The small Indian community in Manila eagerly awaited the arrival of India U21 basketball team in front of the arena, but to their dismay, only 3 players showed up for the game. As expected, their gallant stand wasn't enough as they got trampled by a complete Philippines U21 team, 125-34.

For the Philippines U21, June Elle scored 26 points on 66.7% field goal shooting, and also added 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Lucio Chiu registered his 4th double-double in the tournament with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Eric García and Wang Tiankai scored 12 points each, while Ricaredo Esguera, the newcomer, and Froilan Villablanca chipped in 11 points each. This is also Philippines U21's 5th straight victory as they position themselves for a higher seeding in the knockout stages of the tournament, which will start on August 19.

The trio of Vihaan Muthusamy, Debiprasad Asha and Duluvaishvanara Kapoor played their hearts out for the Indian fans who decided to close their shops earlier than usual just to watch their future basketball superstars. India U21 coach declined to do any post-game interviews regarding the status of their team.

For next week, Philippines U21 will take on Luxembourg U21, August 6, 1:30 AM (Manila time). The game will be held in Luxembourg City. See you there and continue to support our National Teams!

Points Leaders:
June Elle - 26 points
Lucio Chiu - 19 points
Eric García - 12 points
Wang Tiankai - 12 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Lucio Chiu - 16 rebounds
Armando Barberán - 15 rebounds
Allan Camilo Onganon - 11 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Manny Emil Ricamona - 9 assists
Tian Yankun - 9 assists
Ricaredo Esguera - 7 assists
Froilan Villablanca - 7 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Wang Tiankai helps Philippines U21 beat Luxembourg U21, 81-62 (75651)

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg -- Both Philippines U21 and Luxembourg U21 displayed their wall-like defenses, but the Philippine team's firepower was too much to handle as the Filipinos scored another win, 81-62. This low-scoring win is Philippines U21's 6th victory in 7 games in the ongoing consolation tournament.

Wang Tiankai continues to sizzle as he scored 25 points on 9 of 14 field goal shooting. He also extends his double-digit scoring streak to 6 games, in which all of them are wins. Lucio Chiu got 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Rennor Baya, a natural wing player, gets the nod as the small-ball Power Forward in this game. It seems like it didn't matter where he plays though as he chipped in 8 points and hauled 9 rebounds, in which 4 of them were offensive.

Quim Meireles led Luxembourg U21 in scoring as he put up 19 points on 7 of 14 field goal shooting, while Kylian Lowel scored 9 points. Karlo Schepens was Luxembourg U21's anchor on defense as he corralled 11 rebounds and swatted 4 shots.

For next week, Philippines U21 will be put to test as they take on Belgium U21 with their 7-0 unblemished record. The game will be held on August 12, 5:30 PM (Manila time), in Manila. This will be the last game of the elimination round. August 19 marks the start of the knockout phase of the consolation tournament. Please continue to support our National Teams!

Points Leaders:
Wang Tiankai - 25 points
Lucio Chiu - 17 points
Rennor Baya - 8 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Armando Barberan - 9 rebounds
Rennor Baya - 9 rebounds
Eric García - 8 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Manny Emil Ricamona - 6 assists
Ricaredo Esguera - 4 assists
Shannon Olvera - 3 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Congrats Coach and to the entire team ;) Glad to see great contribution Baya did in this game close to double-double performance off the bench Keep Rolling Guys ;)

Belgium U21 snaps Philippine U21's winning streak, 87-61 (75673)

Calbayog City, Philippines -- Philippines U21's 6-game winning streak came to a halt as they faltered against a very tough and defensive-minded Belgium U21 team, 87-61. It was also the lowest scoring output by the Philippines since the start of the tournament.

It was literally a block party for the Belgian bigs, Pierpaolo Virgadamo and Piet De Brouwer, who had 8 and 4 blocks, respectively. As a team, Belgium U21 swatted a total of 18 shots. De Brouwer also led the team in scoring and rebounding with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Derek De Pessimier scored 17 points while Maxence Demeulenaere got 14 points.

For the Philippine side, Wang Tiankai, Lucio Chiu and Tian Yankun led the team in scoring with 15, 14 and 12 points, respectively. Collectively, Philippines U21 only made 26 shots out of 96 attempts (27.1%), which was also the lowest FG% in all their games. Even with this loss, Philippines U21 still secures a spot in the knockout rounds, but possibly at a lower seeding.

We now await the results of the other consolation games to determine the matchups next week. It will be determined tomorrow noon (Manila time) at the earliest. Please continue to support our National Teams!

Points Leaders:
Wang Tiankai - 15 points
Lucio Chiu - 14 points
Tian Yankun - 12 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Allan Camilo Onganon - 18 rebounds
Lucio Chiu - 9 rebounds
Wang Tiankai - 7 rebounds
Tian Yankun - 7 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Manny Emil Ricamona - 7 assists
Tian Yankun - 3 assists
Wang Tiankai - 2 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Knockout round matchups were just released. We're officially the 15th seed and we'll face the 18th seed Romania on August 19, 5:30 PM (Manila time).

If we win this one, our next opponent will be the winner of the game between 2nd seed Slovenia and 31st seed Denmark.

Just a reminder to those managers keeping our current U21 players, please keep your player's game shapes up. Also, please support both our National teams.

Maraming salamat!

- Leo