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Pilipinas U21 asserts mastery over U.A.E. U21, 106-49 (74601)

Beirut, Lebanon -- Pilipinas U21 dominated from the get-go, and never looked back, as they clinch another wire-to-wire victory over U.A.E. U21, for the second time, 106-49. The Filipinos had a blazing start, scoring 33 points in the first quarter, versus the 14 points from the U.A.E. side.

First-time starter Alexander Justin Daa didn't hold back and proved to everyone why he was called up. He scored 27 points and dished out 6 assists. He was also active on the defensive end with 5 steals and 1 block. Leonilo Gomez ended the game with 20 points, on 9 of 15 shooting.

U.A.E. U21 tried to pull a fast one as they started their 3 best big men altogether, but it wasn't too much of a problem for Philippines U21. Shahriar Tibi was once again U.A.E.'s leading scorer this game with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Interesting fact, Tibi also scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in their first encounter as well.

Pilipinas U21's next game will be against Australia U21, which is scheduled on May 27, 11:00pm Manila time. See you all there and keep supporting our National teams!

Points Leaders:
Alexander Justin Daa - 27 points
Leonilo Gomez - 20 points
Pedro Mamaril - 14 points
Luis Pacifico Castromayor - 14 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Emelito Pabillare - 17 rebounds
Allan Camilo Onganon - 13 rebounds
Juvenal Delvir - 11 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Alexander Justin Daa - 6 assists
Clodualdo Salinel - 3 assists
Emelito Pabillare - 3 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Pilipinas U21 fends off gutsy Australian U21 team, 84-77 (74603)

Beirut, Lebanon -- Pilipinas U21 needed this win to get a better chance to enter the semifinals of the ongoing U21 Asian Tournament, and they pulled through, securing a crucial win against Australia U21, 84-77.

The Filipinos were leading after the 1st quarter, 25-16, but the Aussies went on berserk in the 2nd quarter as they scored 34 points (against 18 points from Philippines), and got the lead 50-43. The Philippine team displayed some grit after the halftime and limited the Aussies to just 27 points in the 2nd half.

Pedro Mamaril was red hot to begin the game, but his 3 1st half fouls cooled him down a bit. He scored 17 points in the 1st half, and ended the game as the scoring leader with 31 points on 10 of 25 shooting.

Leonilo Gomez had a miserable night of shooting with just 13 points on 5 of 20 shooting, but his rebounding made up for it as he grabbed 15 rebounds. He was low-key looking like Josh Hart out there on the court.

Allan Camilo Onganon was a monster on the boards with 22 rebounds (9 offensive) to go along with his 12 points and 3 blocks.

Vince Vanderstam and Lan Luu led the Aussies with 14 points each. The Aussies, who are now at 2-2, needs to win their next game vs Malaysia next week. Malaysia just earned a very impressive win against the undefeated Hong Kong U21 team to push themselves in contention for a semifinals spot.

As for the standings, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Philippines will all have identical 3-1 win-loss records and will need to win their last games and secure a decent point differential (PD) to determine who gets to play for the trophies and enter the U21 World Cup next season. Next week's schedule includes: Philippines vs Japan, Hong Kong vs U.A.E. and Malaysia vs Australia

All these games have implications in the final standings, so please continue to support our National and U21 teams. Same time by the way, 11pm (Manila time), on June 3.

Points Leaders:
Pedro Mamaril - 31 points
Leonilo Gomez - 13 points
Allan Camilo Onganon - 12 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Allan Camilo Onganon - 22 rebounds
Leonilo Gomez - 15 rebounds
Axel Marquese - 8 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
David Castaños - 7 assists
Alexander Justin Daa - 4 assists
Leonilo Gomez - 3 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Pilipinas U21 books semifinals seat, drubs Japan U21, 112-65 (74607)

Beirut, Lebanon -- Philippines U21 and Hong Kong U21 knew their assignments. They both outrun and outgunned their opponents and secure semifinals slots. It was just a matter of who gets the number 1 spot in Pool D.

The Filipino team secured an important win against Japan U21, 112-65. On the other hand, Hong Kong U21 thrashed U.A.E. U21, 106-52. Both Hong Kong U21 and Philippines U21 will sport identical 4-1 records, but due to superior point differential, Hong Kong U21 gets #1 with 119, while Philippines U21 gets #2 with 109.

Leonilo Gomez recovered from a nightmarish shooting last game and finished the game with 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting. Clodualdo Salinel and Dino Isaiah Libutaque scored 19 and 14 points, respectively, while Pedro Mamaril had 13 points.

Thad Land led the Japanese side with 16 points and 7 rebounds, while Eito Igarashi contributed 15 points.

The semifinals matchups will be Hong Kong U21 vs Indonesia U21, and on the other bracket, it's Philippines U21 vs China U21. The schedule hasn't been officially released yet, but the semifinals will most likely be this coming Friday, June 7, 11pm (Manila time). What's at stake here is the chance to get the gold trophy and secure a World Cup slot for next season. Teams losing in the semifinals will still get their chance at a World Cup stint via the World Cup Barrage.

Points Leaders:
Leonilo Gomez - 24 points
Clodualdo Salinel - 19 points
Dino Isaiah Libutaque - 14 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Juvenal Delvir - 16 rebounds
Allan Camilo Onganon - 14 rebounds
Emelito Pabillare - 11 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Axel Marquese - 6 assists
Clodualdo Salinel - 5 assists
David Castaños - 4 assists

Again, please support our National and U21 teams! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Thank you very much, my man!

Again, I can't thank you enough for teaching me all I need to know as a coach.

Philippines U21 out of Gold Trophy contention, edged by China U21, 76-86 (74906)

Beirut, Lebanon -- Philippines U21 bucked a shaky start and was able to hang on until mid 4th quarter, where China U21 pulled away and secured the precious victory, 86-76. This win will put them in a Finals showdown against Hong Kong U21, who won convincingly over Indonesia U21, 96-65. Meanwhile, Philippines U21 will settle for a bronze trophy, but will get another chance to enter the World Cup via the World Cup Qualifiers, or the so-called Barrage. Philippines U21 opponent will come from Europe or Americas region. It will be announced sometime in Saturday or Sunday. Tentative game schedule will be on Monday night or Tuesday early morning, Manila time.

Ye Xianming led the Chinese team with 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Shi Kangxiong scored 20 points, while Shi Anxiang dropped 18 points. China's defense was the key to this win as they limited Pedro Mamaril to just 5 attempts the whole game.

Leonilo Gomez led the Filipino-based team with 16 points. Dino Isaiah Libutaque and David Castaños were the only other double-digit scorers for the team with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Points Leaders:
Leonilo Gomez - 16 points
Dino Isaiah Libutaque - 12 points
David Castaños - 11 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Allan Camilo Onganon - 12 rebounds
Axel Marquese - 9 rebounds
Juvenal Delvir - 8 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
David Castaños - 5 assists
Leonilo Gomez - 3 assists
Axel Marquese - 3 assists
Ed Reeder - 3 assists

We're just one win away from another U21 World Cup appearance (via Barrage), so please keep supporting our U21 team.

Maraming salamat at mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Our U21 team's last game for Season 64:

6/10, Monday, 6:00pm
Philippines U21 vs Poland U21

Win this, we'll go to the World Cup next season. Good luck to all of us!

- Leo

Philippines U21 misses bus to the World Cup, demolished by Poland U21, 81-106 (74979)

Beijing, China -- Philippines U21 ends their season on a miserable note as Poland U21 crushes the Philippine team's dream of making the World Cup for the third consecutive time. It was a crushing defeat, 81-106, which sends Philippines U21 to the consolation tournament next season.

Clodualdo Salinel was the only one who showed up for the Filipinos as he scored 31 points on 13 of 29 shooting, but he also had to endure foul trouble in the second half.

Leonilo Gomez started the game but was injured at the beginning of the second quarter. He only managed to score 2 points and grabbed 2 rebounds. He was replaced by the newcomer, Burt Marc Soldevilla, who scored 8 points. Dino Isaiah Libutaque and Juvenal Delvir also scored 8 points each.

Poland U21 were hitting most their shots, which led to them having 6 double-digit scorers, led by Zbigniew Klincewicz with 17 points, and Karol Poczatek with 14 points. The Polish side also outrebounded and out-assisted the Philippine team.

"It wasn't the ending we wanted, so with that, I deeply apologize to the Filipino community who supported the team all the way", coach Leo mentioned in the interview. "As the cliche goes, we'll bounce back!"

Points Leaders:
Clodualdo Salinel - 31 points
Burt Marc Soldevilla - 8 points
Dino Isaiah Libutaque - 8 points
Juvenal Delvir - 8 points

Rebounds Leaders:
Axel Marquese - 8 rebounds
Allan Camilo Onganon - 6 rebounds
Burt Marc Soldevilla - 5 rebounds

Assists Leaders:
Clodualdo Salinel - 5 assists
David Castaños - 4 assists
Axel Marquese - 3 assists

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

- Leo

Hence the end of Season 64. Again, it wasn't the ending that we wanted, so apologies again to everyone. On to Season 65, in the consolation tournament. Not much to say about it, but because of the new rules regarding Home Court Advantages (HCA), the consolation games will mostly be a game for pride and honor, nothing more. We can't get HCA via this tournament because according to the Game Manual, "A NT&U21 team who won a trophy(1-4 places) in the past 6 seasons will not enjoy another HCA, even if they won the consolation tournament." So, we'll take this opportunity to polish Pinoy manager skills in training, and as well as my coaching skills.

I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank the managers of the players included in the team. Thank you for taking care of the player's training and game shape. It was a pleasure talking with y'all.

I'm now wiping the roster clean and scout the incoming rookies starting tomorrow. Hope we can secure a lot of decent prospects in this draft.

And also, in case you missed it, I posted an "Almost Comprehensive" training guide in Taglish. I'll also be including another one in 100% English, probably after an hour or two.

Good luck in your drafts and enjoy the rest of the week!

- Leo