Gilas Pilipinas finished eighth in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup after falling against Chinese Taipei, 89-78, Sunday at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad, India.
Chinese Taipei trailed by double digits in the first half but took a 14-point advantage in the fourth quarter as it gained payback against the Philippines, which escaped in their group phase matchup.
Chog Moral had another impressive performance with 22 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists in the victory. Ethan Aguas added 15 markers and seven boards, while Lino Tubongbanua Jr. had 10 points.
Carter Coleman paced the winning squad with a massive double-double of 23 points, 15 rebounds, four steals, two blocks and two assists.
Gilas had a great start, turning a 26-24 advantage to a 38-26 lead after a layup by Sizco Roquid with 5:41 left in the first half.
But a 23-3 run capped by a Li-an Chuang layup turned things around, giving Chinese Taipei a 49-41 lead at the half.
The Philippines trimmed the deficit to three, 53-56, in the third after a layup by Aguas, but Chinese Taipei retaliated with an 18-7 run to take a 74-60 lead early in the fourth.
From that point on, Gilas tried to storm back, but the nearest they got to was within nine points.
George Aidan Green had eight points and seven rebounds for the Philippines.
Yu-Sheng Xing tallied 17 markers for Chinese Taipei, while Ting-Kuan Liu and Tz-Jie Weng added 13 and 11, respectively.
Gilas won in their group phase matchup with Chinese Taipei, 89-88, in a game where the Philippines led by 27 points.