Gilas Youth fights for life

Putting the cuffs on Japanese center Leon Watanabe will be tops on Gils Pilipinas Youth in their FIBA U18 Asia Cup game Friday at the Prince Hamza Sport Hall in Amman, Jordan.

The stakes are high as Gilas has to win against the Japanese to make the grade for a quarterfinal slot and likewise snap a two-game losing skid.

Tipoff is at 9:30 p.m. (Manila time) as the Filipino dribblers are coming off 75-58 defeat to New Zealand to finish Group D at third place.

The Tall Blacks, Australia, defending champion South Korea, and China already booked their slots in the quarterfinal by topping their respective groups.

This leaves the second and third best teams of each group to play an additional knockout game to qualify for the quarterfinal.

The Japanese, who finished Group C with a 2-1 record, are gunning for redemption after a heartbreaking 77-73 loss to the Koreans in Iran at the 2022 FIBA U18 Asia Cup, making them a tough nut to crack for the Filipinos.