Sean Ildefonso led Batang Gilas with 18 points as the Philippines pulled off a rare win over China, 73-63, on Tuesday evening at the Bangkok Thai-Japan Youth Center in Thailand.
Batang Gilas' three-game sweep of Group B earned them a quarterfinal slot in the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship.
The eldest son of retired PBA star Danny Ildefonso joined AJ Edu and Dalph Panopio in scoring on every turnover their Chinese rivals made.
Edu had 13 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks, while Panopio delivered 12.
As Ildefonso connected twice during a 13-4 run, Batang Gilas went on to take charge with a 33-29 edge, in the last 3:42.
The Philippines then took a nine-point lead off Xyrus Torres' trey, 38-29, with 7:47 remaining.
From there, the Philippines continued pulling away with consecutive attacks from Panopio and Ildefonso, 42-30, with 6:19 left.
Six-foot-seven Guo Haowen tallied 24 points for China, which settled for second in their bracket, and will next meet Indonesia.
BOX SCORES:
BATANG GILAS 73 – Ildefonso 18, Edu 13, Panopio 12, Sotto 11, Oczon 11, Torres 5, Abadiano 2, Cortez 1, Ramirez 0, Amsali 0, Lina 0, Chiu 0
CHINA 63 – Guo 24, Jiang Q 14, Wang Q 13, Xu 7, Jiang W 5, Shi 0, Li 0, Chen 0, Wang Y 0
QUARTER SCORES: 18-15, 31-27, 54-39, 73-63
