Philippines loses to Russia, remains winless
By Adrian Stewart Co

The Philippine men’s national under-19 basketball team remains winless in the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup after recently losing 92-64 to Russia in Heraklion, Greece.
Russia got to work immediately after tip-off and took a 16-4 lead, which later widened to 28-15 after the first 10 minutes. They continued to lead throughout the half and went into the break ahead 49-30.
In the second half, the Philippines failed to recover from its slow start and eventually saw their deficit expand to 89-59 with just over a minute left.
Kai Sotto, who has been averaging 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 4.5 blocks for the Philippines, was held to just 14 points, seven rebounds, and six block shots; while Dave Ildefonso, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds against Argentina, contributed 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Aleksandr Ershov led Russia with 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting; while Nikita Mikhailovskii tallied a double-double on 16 points and 10 rebounds, along with converting four outside hits.
Despite the winless record, the Philippines still advanced to the Round of 16, where they will play Serbia, which topped Group D. Serbia finished the group stage undefeated, recording wins over France, China, and Puerto Rico./ASC, WDJ