Gutierrez and Carreon showered Taiwan U21 with three point bombs to give Pilipinas U21 the W 106-94 (39552)Together, Utek Gutierrez
(38155386) and Victor Carreon
(38155969) made 11 of their 14 three point attempts in the 12 point victory. Gutierrez leads the team with 33 points while Carreon contributed 23 points and added 10 boards. Paulino Basco
(38955795) provided a steady presence off the bench with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists.
Taiwan U21 started out strong with their SF Tan Guo Qing making a fadeaway over Gutierrez in the opening minutes. However, both teams found it difficult to score afterwards connected only in 2 of 15 field goals combined. Carreon gave Pilipinas U21 its first point through a free throw and Gutierrez followed through with an inside shot. The first sign of trouble came after Ace Julio Madrigal
(38155771) committed his second foul early in the quarter, and would eventually be limited to 15 minutes before fouling out. Fortunately, backup Carlos Miguel Octaviano
(38155686) held his own against Taiwan’s big men. Madrigal picked up his third foul late in the first quarter, but Pilipinas ended the quarter with a 7-2 run to lead by 8. Starting on the second quarter, Taiwan started pounding the ball inside, with 13 straight attempts in the paint. However, they are unable to make any headway as Pilipinas countered two point buckets with three point field goals. As the rest of the team cooled off, Utek Gutierrez made sure that Pilipinas will keep the lead with 7 straight points. Because of this, Pilipinas was able to preserve their lead with the half ending 58-44. Pilipinas opened the third quarter with three point shots from way downtown. Carreon hit one and Gutierrez hit two in succession. A dunk by Kenneth McNeil
(38403266) finally forced Taiwan to call a full timeout. This proved to be advantageous as they responded with a 7-0 run forcing a timeout from Pilipinas. But as usual, every time Taiwan makes a run, the duo Gutierrez and Carreon would pile up points to stop the bleeding. With 1:21 left in the game, Pilipinas were finally able to rest their starters as the game ends 106-94
Looking at the other matches, Singapore U21 was able to upset China U21 92-77
(39567) to join Malaysia and Hong Kong as the winners in Pool E. In Pool D, Pilipinas U21 now ranks 2nd behind Australia after this victory. The other country to claim a victory is Macau U21 with an 8 point lead over Việt Nam U21. The next game will be against Việt Nam U21 next
Monday, November 7, 4 PM. Team Pilipinas hopes to continue their strong start in this game.