Team USA victorious over Batang Gilas
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00:00Team USA completed a sweep of its group matches after beating Team Philippines in the World
00:22Under-17 Basketball Championship at the El Ali Club in Dubai.
00:26The Americans also defeated Greece and Angola in their other group matches.
00:30Despite the huge size disadvantage, the Filipinos said they welcomed the opportunity to be grouped
00:36with the best team in the tournament.
00:37We prayed hard that we would be bracketed with Team USA because it's only a dream to
00:45play the best of the best and in the World Championship, that's Team USA.
00:49Coming into the game like this, we respected the Philippines and how they play a great
00:53deal.
00:54I mean, they're very fast, they're very quick.
00:55We don't overlook anybody even though we got some size and some really good athletic ability.
01:00We take every team that we play, we respect every team we play, we take them seriously.
01:05And I think Philippines does a lot of really good things.
01:08You know, they're not size-wise, they just can't compete yet.
01:11Although they came into the match the clear underdog, the Philippine squad had the full
01:15backing of a jam-packed Filipino crowd who applauded every single one of the 64 points
01:20scored by the Philippine team.
01:22The fans were equally appreciative of the showmanship displayed by Team USA, especially
01:26the Americans' thunderous dunks and picture-perfect alley-oops.
01:30The Filipinos actually kept the game close early on, but the athletic season and the
01:34height advantage of the Americans were simply too much for the underdogs.
01:38Height will always be an advantage in basketball, but the future is bright for us Filipinos
01:45because this is the first time for us to be here in the world championship at this age.
01:50And hopefully this will not be the last for us.
01:53This should be a consistent basis for us for all Filipinos.
01:57It was a fun crowd.
01:58We enjoyed playing against a full house like this.
02:01We enjoy having people support their team.
02:05And tonight was a great deal because the people here supported the Philippines and it was
02:09just fun to play in.
02:10What we really wanted is to show the entire world how big the hearts of the Filipinos are.
02:16Not only in basketball, but the Filipino spirit that never gives up.
02:20Like the people here in Dubai, they keep on coming and they keep on cheering no matter
02:25what the score is.
02:27That's the true passion of a Filipino.
02:29That's the true heart of a Filipino.
02:31Josh Jackson led Team USA with 16 points while Team Philippines was led by Jolla Mendoza
02:37with 19 points.
02:38Actually, everybody's playing good, but we're just very small.
02:43But Jolla Mendoza and Mike Nieto, together with Jolla Go, they're really performing well.
02:49Team USA advanced to the knockout round with a clean slate and was set to face Japan in
02:54its next game.
02:55The Philippines, likewise, move into the next stage despite dropping all its group matches
03:00and will play the undefeated French team.
03:03Irish Iden Balieza for Golf News.