SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — It’s a long and continuing journey ahead for Batang Gilas (Gilas Youth) as it will be facing tougher challenges in the upcoming Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) Under-16 Asia Cup this July in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The country’s youth team scored a clean sweep of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Qualifiers held in San Fernando, Pampanga, beating Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore for top honors and the championship.
Following the team’s gold-medal finish, Batang Gilas head coach Lewis Alfred ‘LA’ Tenorio vowed to lead his wards to work even harder as they will be facing stiff competition when they campaign in Mongolia and give honor to the Philippines.
“This is not yet the end goal,” Tenorio enthused after his youthful but talented players completed the SEABA shutout in the final stage of the tourney with a 70-40 rout of powerhouse Indonesia and thereby built a promising momentum for the continent’s biggest stage in July.
“Still a long journey ahead. Keeping our heads down. A lot of work to be done,” he added.
But the former Barangay Ginebra San Miguel stakwart still has to settle other concerns, among them getting the triumphant core of his team back on board amid the players’ stints with their respective schools.
“Definitely they’re committed (to the Asia Cup). Gusto nila. They’re looking forward to Mongolia. But siyempre, they have to consider also iyong school schedule. May NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) juniors’ na rin yata tapos preparation for UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines), may FilOil (pre-season competition), maraming liga,” Tenorio noted.