Kate Bobadilla and Louna Ozar proved their worth in their Gilas Women’s debut, powering the Philippines’ Under-18 squad to a 65-50 triumph over Thailand to open their campaign in the 2022 FIBA Asian Championship Division B, Monday at Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Banglore, India.
Bobadilla, who is classified by FIBA as a naturalized player as she was able to obtain her Philippine passport after the age of 16, had a sizzling performance, tallying 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field with four steals.
Meanwhile, Ozar, who plays for French club Villeneuve-d’Ascq Lille Metropole, anchored the defense with 11 rebounds and three steals to go along with eight points.
The duo powered Gilas’ fourth quarter breakaway.
Up 43-41 early in the final frame, Camille Nolasco triggered a 10-2 spurt, capped by a Kristan Yumul jumper.
It was all Gilas from there, pushing the lead to as high as 17 points, 65-48, after a Sumayah Sugapong trey with 1:12 remaining.
Yumul added 10 points for Gilas while Sugapong tallied nine points, eight rebounds, and five steals. Sydney Heyn and Ashley Loon both grabbed seven rebounds as well.
Laksamee Hewchaiyaphum led Thailand with 10 points and seven rebounds while Supawadee Aupatam added nine points and eight rebounds.
The Philippines will next face Samoa tomorrow at 8:30 PM. Samoa will still face the Maldives later in the day.
The Scores:
Philippines 65 – Bobadilla 22, Yumul 10, Sugapong 9, Ozar 8, Nolasco 8, Loon 6, Udal 2, Heyn 0, Abraham 0, Calvert 0, Villarin 0.
Thailand 50 – Hewchaiyaphum 10, Aupatam 9, Chipcharoenrat 8, Sinlapawisut 7, Rengrew 5, Goldemann 4, Sakaret 3, Rengrew 2, Ketsiri 2, Manyum 0, Janokun 0.
Quarterscores: 16-12, 30-25, 43-38, 65-50.
