Discovery Perlas Pilipinas fell short to Tainan City, 82-67, in the Basketball Thailand Super League International Finals Sunday, held in Nakhon Pathom Stadium, Thailand.
The group from Chinese Taipei dominated from the tip, ending each quarter with a double-digit lead that reached 28 early in the fourth canto.
Nevertheless, it was a valiant effort for the women donning the three stars and the sun across their chests who earned their place in the championship game, upsetting first seed and former SEA Games gold medalists Thailand in the semis.
Perlas forward, Fatima Tolentino, led the team with 16 markers but the Discovery Perlas would be outmatched with their opponent’s length, especially with their starters playing almost the entirety of the game and the two-woman bench playing a combined 19 minutes.
Demonstrating this was Pingtung native, Su Yi-ching, who would be the presence anchoring the defense, leading all players with 14 caroms and four blocks.
Despite posting a 48 to 38 points in the paint advantage, the Filipinas would be unable to disrupt the offensive flow of Chinese duo, Lo Pin and Liu His-Yeh, scoring 22 and 21 points respectively.
Guards MJ Jacob, Mary Joy Garcia, and Vangie Soriano all scored double digits for Team Philippines.
The Scores:
Tainan City (82) – Lo 22, Liu -21, Su -15, Chen 13, Hung 9, Li 2, Pan 0
Discovery Perlas Pilipinas (67) – Tolentino 16, Jacob 12, Galicia 11, Soriano 10, Adriano 6, Gloriani 4, Flormata 2, Francisco 2, Siat 2, Tiu 2, Bautista 0, Mendez 0
Quarters: 12-23, 29-46, 43-68, 67-82
Photo by Kuk Thew
