BATANG GILAS COMPETES IN THE 2016 FIBA ASIA UNDER 18 CHAMPIONSHIP

After the dismal showing of Gilas Pilipinas in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifier a few weeks ago, it is their younger counterparts' turn to wear the Pilipinas jersey. The Batang Gilas team will be competing in the 2016 FIBA ASia Under 18 Championship in Tehran, Iran starting tomorrow, July 22.

They earned their ticket to this competition by topping the 2016 SEABA Under-18 Championship early this year.

The team is composed of the following players, mostly are the players who played in the SEABA Championships:

Bahio, JB
Carino, Kenmark
Flores, Theo Joshua
Gallego, John Vincent
Lee, Rendell
Madrigal, Jethro
Mamuyac, Gian
Mendoza, Jolo
Pagsanjan, Harvey
Sinclair, Joshua
Tibayan, Joshua
Yu, Fran

The team is coached by Michael Oliver and Jonas Mendoza. Team photo below is posted in Sports5 Twitter account :

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW | Batang Gilas hopes to slay giants in #FIBAU18Asia https://t.co/9zsI6kMeLF pic.twitter.com/7fJpilBSJu

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) July 21, 2016

Some familiar names are in the roster - Mendoza and Mamuyac are Ateneo recruits; Sinclair, Flores and Lee participated in the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championships recently and Tibayan was part of the Gilas Cadets who swept the 2016 SEABE Championship in Thailand.

Philippines was drawn in Group A in the single round robin elimination round - together with defending champions China, 2014 4th placer Chinese Taipei, Iraq, India and Thailand, Group B teams include hosts Iran, 2014 3rd placer South Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Lebanon.

The top 4 in each team will advance in the crossover knockout quarterfinal round.

Here is the schedule of Batang Gilas' games in the elimination round. YouTube link to the livestream is also provided and will be updated once all links are available :

July 22 - vs Chinese Taipei (livestream link here)
July 23 - vs Iraq (livestream link here)
July 24 - vs China (livestream link here)
July 26 - vs India
July 27 - vs Thailand

Good luck Batang Gilas!