Gilas Pilipinas started strong but couldn't sustain its momentum en route to a 67-84 setback to China in the 2023 FIBA U16 Asian Championship Sunday at the Al-Gharafa Sports Club Hall in Doha, Qatar.

Kiefer Alas led the scoring parade for Gilas, who were battered by the taller, heftier and stronger Chinese in the rebounding department, 36-48, that led to 40 points compared to only 20 by the Filipinos.

Alas, son of former Philippine Basketball Association coach Louie Alas and younger brother of NLEX star Kevin Alas, fired 20 points while Cletz David Amos and Kurt Nathan Velasquez chipped in 13 and 12 markers, respectively.

Boyuan Zhang had 18 points while Wenhao Fu fueled the Chinese attack with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

After trailing by just a point at the half, 43-44, Gilas failed to stop the Chinese in the third period with Wenwei Hi converting a three-point play to rip the game wide open.

Gilas coach Josh Reyes tried to regroup in the fourth period but his boys already ran out of steam as they scored only eight points, no thanks to the suffocating Chinese defense.

Gilas are playing Kazakhstan at press time for a chance to stay alive in Group D and advance to the quarterfinals together with the top-ranked squad.

Gilas have to work hard as the semifinalists will be given a ticket to the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey.