ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Southeast Asian youth basketball will be well-represented as three of the sub-zone's traditional contenders are set to compete in the upcoming FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 in the Mongolian capital.
The Philippines will headline the ensemble - which also features Indonesia and Malaysia - following a dominant six-game sweep of the FIBA U16 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers at home in Pampanga last May 24-30.
Coached by none other than Gilas legend LA Tenorio, the team ran roughshod over the field, capped by a 70-40 beatdown of Timnas in the Final witnessed by their own fans at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center.
It was a somewhat vengeful victory for the Filipino dribblers, as they nearly got chopped by the Indonesians and the upset axe before ultimately escaping with the 77-68 result during their Group Phase encounter.
More importantly, though, the win enabled the Philippines to reach the U16 Asia Cup for the eighth time in as many editions of the tournament, which was first held in 2009 in Kuala Lumpur eventually lorded over by China.
But while they managed to keep that streak alive, the pressure is on for this batch to sustain the country's track record in this event as their predecessors have reached the Semi-Finals twice in the last three meets.
Making it to the final four means qualifying for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup as well, and so eyes will be on Tenorio and his charges if they could accomplish as much and bring themselves to Turkey next year.
Another source of motivation for this Philippine team, for sure, is aiming to send the men's youth program back to the U16 Asia Cup Final, something that hasn't been done in 12 years or since 2013 in Tehran, Iran.
Gab Delos Reyes earned Tournament MVP honors in the Pampanga contest but Gilas Youth received plenty of contributions from guys such as Andwele Cabanero and Jhustin Hallare, to name just a few.
And so, these names could be shoo-ins for the August 31-September 7 games, carrying with them expectations not only of leading a 12-man team but in maintaining the Philippines' stature in the prestigious tilt.
Indonesia, on the other hand, booked a return trip to the U16 Asia Cup after missing the 2023 festivities in Qatar, which was won by Australia to complete just the second 'three-peat' of the tourney next to the Chinese.
The last time that Timnas participated was in 2022 also in Doha, where they finished 11th.
It took the program some time to regain their place among Asia's best, but they're surely coming into this year's event with sky-high morale especially after a silver-medal finish in the SEABA Qualifiers with a 4-2 record.
Add to that the hunger to prove that they've grown better from that winless campaign three years ago, with Benjamin Hernusi, Kenzie Sutanto, and Dio Naranatha serving as their sources of hope for a turnaround.
Set for their fourth appearance, the Indonesians are looking to advance to the Quarter-Finals for the first time in 14 years or since the 2011 edition in Nha Trang, Vietnam, where they ended up with an even 4-4 record.
Malaysia, last but not the least, are bound for their second successive U16 Asia Cup stint after copping the bronze medal in the recent SEABA Qualifiers by taking down Thailand, 79-68, in the Third-Place Game.
That is an achievement per se for a program aiming to put together another string of appearances after it got snapped at six after missing 2022, leaving the SEABA representation to only the Philippines and Indonesia.
The Malaysians have yet to pull off a deep run in this competition - their highest finish was ninth in 2013 - and the squad led by Mikel Rohit Kingsley Daniel and Cameron Jeremie Pagbe Tan would want to improve that.
Both the Philippines and Indonesia are situated in Group B of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 with New Zealand and Chinese Taipei, while Malaysia are in a dangerous Group C with China, Korea, and hosts Mongolia.
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FIBA