Cebu’s Theo Joshua Flores celebrates the gold-medal victory of the Batang Gilas in Indonesia. (Contributed)
The Batang Gilas Pilipinas capped off their dominant run in the 2016 SEABA Under-18 Championship with a gold medal after throttling Thailand, 86-49, in the finals on Thursday night at the Angkasapura Lanud Hall in Medan, Indonesia.
Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu product Joshua Sinclair capped off his breakout party in regional play with another solid performance of 15 points and six rebounds in spite coming off the bench.
Former University of Southern Philippines Foundation Baby Panther JB Bahio punched in a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds laced with three assists to help the Philippines recover from a 17-19 first period deficit and run off with the crown with a searing 56-20 blast spanning the second and third cantos.
But Sinclair refused to dwell on the achievement and instead trained his eyes on the bigger prize of winning the upcoming Fiba Asia Under-18 Championship this July in Iran.
“We have to not be complacent with our dominance in SEABA because Fiba Asia is a whole different ball game. We go from the top dogs to the underdogs. We’re going to have to play with a chip on our shoulders in that tournament to stand a chance against the Asian powerhouses,” said the National University (NU) recruit, who averaged 16 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 21 minutes of action.
Ex-University of the Visayas standout Theo Joshua Flores and Bahio concurred with their teammate’s statement and reiterated the need to get better as the competition is expected to get much tougher—and taller.
“There’s a lot of things that we can improve on. Personally, I need to be faster and more accurate with my shooting which will be crucial at the Fiba Asia tournament. Then as a team, we can still get better with our communication and effort,” said Flores, who was also recruited to join NU.
Bahio shared that he can still get better at rebounding the ball especially with the stratospheric heights of their upcoming opponents this July.
“I just really need to tell myself not to hesitate or be scared. That way, I can get more rebounds,” said the current San Beda Red Lion.
But more than the numbers, Sinclair said it was the time spent with his teammates that made the experience even more valuable.
“I’ve learned a lot during this tournament but I’d say that the most valuable thing I’ve learned is the little things about my teammates that make them different. I’ve become a lot closer with the team, we’ve really had time to bond on and off the court.
Hopefully, our on-court chemistry will improve from this,” the long-limbed forward shared.
“I’m thankful that I got the opportunity to play for my country and if people think I proved myself as a good player during this tournament, that’s just a bonus. I’m just happy we won Seaba and I was able to help the team.
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