Philippines U21 falters against Italy U21 in a one-sided match-up.The Philippines U21 hopes of advancing were dashed as they fell to Italy during the ongoing World U21 Championships Repechage.
The upset win over Argentina U21 last week would have made a good backdrop going into this game but it was not enough to carry the Philippines U21 from sliding against Italy U21 early. Scoring droughts, sloppy plays and missed defensive assignments were all that Italy U21 needed as their vault-like defense shut down anyone that dared to make a challenge.
The Philippines U21 couldn't get anything going under the basket as Italy's defenses clogged the lane, their perimeter defense was also not to be taken lightly, combining for a total 22 defensive points with 11 steals and 11 blocks after the game.
Torreon was the lone bright spot for the Philippines U21 tonight, he showed everybody why he's one of the country's top emerging talents. He finished with19 points and 15 boards, 9 of those from offensive rebounds. He managed to stand his ground against his matchup and put his counterpart, Cerutti, out of commission in just under 20 minutes.
Luzviminda lead the team with a well-balanced 21 points, and 7 rebounds, 3 assists and no turnovers,
Torreon chipped in with his 19 points and 15 rebounds but only made 5 of his 10 freebies.
Torreon lamented about his mishaps to a court-side reporter after the game:
"I need to spend more time shooting free-throws in the gym after practice, 5 out of 10 is not good enough"
Valdez and
Ortega both had 11 points but both guards also had 7 of the team's 15 turnovers.
Philippines head coach commented when asked about his team's 15 TO's:
"We need to get a better handle on the ball than that, we can't just walk in there and think this is just some pickup game, they're gonna bury us on the other end if we gift the ball to them every possession"
Teodorini and
Huscher basically made things look easy, as they drained jumper after jumper against a Philippine defense that was noticeably a step slow. They both lead the pack in scoring, 24 and 23 markers respectively, and a combined 9/15 from outside the arc. Three other players scored in double-figures for Italy U21. Teodorini and Italy center Pizzi were equally impressive in defense as they also had 4 blocks each.
(https://i.imgur.com/MjPDIIK.png)Coaches’ Corner:Tired but upbeat, coach Fabio Menta had this to say about the game during the press conference:
“We really gave our best to get an advantage against a very strong team in Italy U21 in this game. The reality is that they are too much for us. They are a really great team with talented players and they have a fantastic coach. Congrats to them! On our side this is a learning process, we need to learn through this result. I’m happy about the performance of our players as they showed their heart out, there is nothing to be ashamed of, at least we gave a good fight against Italy U21. I’m calling the attention of our community please if you have future prospects please get in touch with me and my staff so we can guide you on the training of your players. We must help each other and train our own players as this is a collaborative effort. We need your cooperation and support so we can be successful in the future.”
Post-Game Notes: (*)Torreon grabbed his 10th rebound for a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds late in the 2nd qtr.
(*)The Philippines' frontcourt tandem of Dahl and Torreon combined for 15 offensive rebounds but they converted only 8 of their 28 total shots.
Next game:
vs. Africa U21
Last edited by Pro_Shot 🇵🇭 at 1/16/2018 12:32:08 PM