The Gilas Pilipinas boys team yielded to Asian neighbor China, 85-66, and stayed winless in the FIBA U17 World Cup at the Ahmet Comert Sports Hall in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, July 6.

Another slow start haunted the Gilas Boys as the Chinese immediately built a sizable margin in the first frame and never relinquished it until the final buzzer to hand the Filipinos its sixth loss in as many games.

Gilas also lost to China in the battle for bronze in the continental championship, 87-59.

Li Yuezhou proved to be the biggest thorn to the side of Gilas Boys after firing 24 points built on six triples to go along with his 12 rebounds as China led by as many as 30 points in the contest.

Joaquin Ludovice tried to pump some life to Gilas Boys with 15 points while CJ Amos added 14 points, but the lead was just too much to overcome especially with China’s confidence soaring high following a scintillating start.

China set the tone in the opening quarter and raced to an early 16-4 lead. The Filipinos showed some resistance but a strong closeout from their Chinese counterpart built them a 29-12 edge.

Gilas’ offense got into a much better flow in the ensuing quarters but just couldn’t string together enough points to threaten China.

The Nationals will have the last chance to pick up a lone win and avoid finishing dead last in the competition when it takes on the loser between Guinea and Australia in the classification for the 15th to 16th spots.