Season 22 U21 Asian Championships Begins!
Like a child opening his Christmas presents on Christmas day, 20 yo Marc Madrigal was very happy and estatic when he was informed 15 minutes before game time he would start in the first game of the Season 22 U21 game vs India for the Pilipinas U21 squad. A massive 20,000 crowd jam packed the Granada Stadium in Hongkong, the site of this year's U21 Asian Championships with a lot of Pinoy OFW's cheering the Pilipinas U21 Team on. Marc Madrigal started with a 1-7 shooting night but slowly and confidently regained his composure to finish with 6 of 11 shooting with 14 points and a game high 14 rebounds along with 3 big blocks starting at the center position. Senior U21 bigmen Luis Angelo Rubi and Karl Suobiron chipped in 19 and 16 points respectively as the Pilipans frontline overwhelmed their opponents to cruise to an easy 104 to 74 win against the Indian U21 squad.
U21 Pilipinas manager Lolo Smithz when asked why he chosed to start Marc Madrigal over his more senior U21 teammates had this to say. “We wanted Marc to experience this early what it takes to play internationally, for him to experience the pressures of the international game. We believe it would help him immensely next season if we ever get to the World Championships. There are a lot of other 20 yo's worthy to be in our current U21 team but we only have so much roster space sadly.”
Another reporter chipped in and asked why the point differential was so low as compared to the games of the Asian region heavyweights like that of China. Lolo Smithz had this to say also. “First game jitters for everyone I guess. We didn't do so badly as we shot 50 percent from the field and limited the other side to 37 percent. By the time the 4th quarter started it was clear already we had the win in the bag so we opted to play it safe and went into cruise mode.”
When asked what Filipinos should expect from this years Pilipinas U21 squad especially the thousands of OFW's here in Hongkong Lolo Smithz replied. “We thank all our supporters for the moral support they gave us by coming here to cheer for our boys. Believe me it means a lot to them. Tonight's win is just the first step to our ultimate goal which is to win another U21 Asian Championship trophy and to qualify for the World championships next season. Trust me when I say this the road ahead isn't easy, there are better teams out there but with faith and belief in ourselves I think we can overcome all obstacles. Win or lose we promise to play our best as not to shame our compatriots who will come to cheer for us in our upcoming games. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas U21 team!”