Blackwater-Perlas Pilipinas bucked off a slow start and leaned on a huge second quarter to pull away and trounce Sri Lanka, 65-45 Monday in the 2015 FIBA Asia Women’s Championship Level II action in Wuhan, China.
The Philippines scored its second straight victory and improved to 2-1 in the team standings for a better shot at Level I promotion.
After a see-saw first quarter where Sri Lanka even led, 8-5, the Philippines asserted control in the next two quarters, limiting their foes to only 15 points combined in the second and third periods.
From a 14-all deadlock after the opening quarter, Perlas stepped on the gas pedal and scored a 22-6 run capped by four triples — two from Shelley Gupilan — to carry over a 36-20 halftime lead.
The nationals never went threatened again after that point, securing the win. The Philippines shot 7-for-23 from three-point area, its best showing so far.
Gupilan led the squad with 15 points, all coming from three-point area. Camille Sambile added 9 points and 9 rebounds while Afril Bernardino coralled 10 rebounds.
Perlas drew 32 turnovers from Sri Lanka and had 17 steals. The team also went to the free-throw line 22 more times than Sri Lanka, nailing a total of 20 foul shots.
A balanced Perlas rotation which saw all 11 players suiting up and logging at least 13 minutes while no one playing more than 22 minutes.
Raiza Palmera-Dy, who was nursing a suspected knee injury sustained from the match against North Korea, is the only player unable to participate and she might miss the rest of the tournament.
The Scores:
Philippines (65) – Gupilan 15, Sambile 9, Arayi 9, Resultay 7, Bernardino 6, Borja 6, Lim 4, Tongco 4, Miranda 3, Roman 2, Animam 0.
Sri Lanka (45) – Silva 10, Don Thalagala 9, Juwan Pedige 7, Beruwalage 6, Gumawijeya 5, Ekanayake 4, Rajapakse 4, Thewahettige 0, Gallage 0, Perera 0, Wanniachchige 0.
Quarterscores: 14-14, 36-20, 46-29, 65-45.
