MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines got its first win of the 2018 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in thrilling fashion on Saturday, as Batang Gilas held off Egypt, 70-69, at the Technological University Stadium in Santa Fe, Argentina (Sunday morning in Manila).

Kai Sotto tallied 28 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocks to power Batang Gilas to its first triumph after dropping five straight games in the world stage.

The result put the Philippines in a battle with New Zealand for 13th place in the 16 team tournament. New Zealand defeated China, 62-57, in its own game in the classification semifinals.

The Philippines led Egypt comfortably for most of the game, even building a 20-point lead, 39-19, with two minutes to go in the second quarter, thanks to two free throws from Sotto.

But a poor third quarter saw Batang Gilas squander their advantage, and the game went down the wire.

With the Philippines clinging to a one-point lead, 65-64, Raven Cortez came through with a clutch putback off Gerry Abadiano's miss for a 67-64 advantage with just a minute left to play. Two free throws by Egypt's Omar Morsy again made it a one-point game, and a turnover by Forthsky Padrigao gave Egypt a chance to take the lead.

Fortunately for Batang Gilas, Momen Hassan bricked his attempt, and Sotto knocked down four more free throws in the final 13 seconds to push the Philippines ahead, 70-66.

A triple by Mazen Ibrahim with five seconds left and two bricks at the line by Gerry Abadiano gave Egypt one last chance, but Morsy misfired on a potential game-winning three-pointer, allowing Batang Gilas to escape with the win.

Abadiano finished with 15 points, while Cortez and Padrigao added 10 points each for Batang Gilas.

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