Former Magis Eagle Dave Wilson Yu leads Batang Gilas’ late rally vs Fiba Asia U18 hosts
Cebuano basketball prodigy Dave Wilson Yu sparked a miraculous fourth period turnaround that saw the Batang Gilas come all the way back from a 15-point deficit to upset the hosts Qatar, 82-79, in the Fiba Asia Under-18 Championship late Friday night at the Al-Gharafa in Doha.
Despite the presence of 3,000 screaming Filipinos who trooped to the venue, all seemed lost for the boys of head coach Jamike Jarin as they stared at a 53-68 deficit with just 7:43 remaining in the game.
Fortunately for the Batang Gilas, they had a beacon of hope in Yu, the former Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu stalwart and the son of former local collegiate great Wilson Yu and Cebuana beauty queen, Cherrypie Oronce Yu.
Yu fuelled the rally with three straight triples and fellow Cebuano Paul Desiderio followed suit, canning one of his own to pull the Nationals to within seven, 65-72.
Later, Manuel Mosqueda, Richard Escoto and Radge Tongco made several more baskets with the latter converting on a bucket off a Yu assist that got them to within a single point, 78-79 with 29 ticks remaining.
After Qatar turned the ball over, Desiderio hit the biggest shot of the game as his twinner gave the Batang Gilas the lead, 80-79, with 17 seconds to go. Free throws by Tongco and Kobe Paras hammered the final nail in the hosts’ coffin as the Batang Gilas gained their second win of the tournament and a huge bounce back from their defeat at the hands of South Korea the other day.
Yu finished with 16 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals while Desiderio, Tongco and Escoto had 13 apiece.