By Adrian Stewart Co

The Philippine men’s national under-19 basketball team exited the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup following their recent 87-60 defeat in the Round of 16 to Serbia at the Heraklion University Hall in Greece.
The Philippines opened with a 4-0 start behind Kai Sotto and Gerry Abadiano and managed to hold a 12-8 edge midway in the first period when Serbia went on a run and took a 19-14 lead on back-to-back hits by Dalibor Ilic.
Serbia went on to take a 22-18 lead in the following quarter, which increased to 41-21 following a 17-1 run.
The Philippines managed to narrow the gap to 15 points at the half.
The difference further narrowed to 12 points but Serbia held on to their advantage and led by as much as 81-54.
Dave Ildefonso top-scored for the Philippines with 18 points, Sotto contributed 13 points and eight rebounds, while Abadiano chipped in 12 markers.
The Philippines next plays Australia in the 9-16 classification round. Australia lost their Round of 16 game to Lithuania, 91-74.
Meanwhile, Serbia advances to the quarterfinals, where they will meet Lithuania./ASC, WDJ