Gilas Pilipinas Women’s under-16 squad racked up their most impressive win so far.
The young Filipinas scored a scintillating 94-65 win over Samoa to complete their sweep of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Under-16 Asian Championship-Division B’s Group A, Sunday at Prince Hamza Sports Hall in Amman, Jordan.
The win assured the Philippines of a final four slot in the tournament that has one Division A ticket on the line. Gilas will face the winner of the tilt between Syria and the third seed of Group B on Wednesday.
Kristan Yumul still put up her numbers in the contest, finishing with 22 points on five treys but needed 21 attempts to do so.
With Yumul and Gabby Ramos having an off night from the field, Gilas receive a sparkplug from NU standout BJ Villarin.
Villarin got 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field with seven rebounds in just 14 minutes of action.
Naomi Panganiban also added 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the win.
With the team clicking, Gilas raced to a 49-34 halftime lead before turning it to a 71-52 cushion heading in the final frame.
The floodgates continued to open wider in the final frame, ballooning to as high as 31 points, 94-63, after a Sierra Patricio bucket with 52.1 ticks left.
Ramos more than made up for her 2-of-9 outing, grabbing 10 rebounds and nabbing four steals. Scoring nine points each as well were Sam Medina, Camille Nolasco, and Kailah Oani.
Kira-May Filemu was a one-woman show for Samoa, tallying 28 points and 27 rebounds. Azaleeah Oloapu was the other double-digit scorer for the Samoans with 18 points.
The Scores:
Philippines 94 – Yumul 22, Panganiban 14, Villarin 13, Oani 9, Nolasco 9, Medina 9, Fajardo 8, Ramos 4, Elson 3, Patricio 3, Lopez 0.
Samoa 65 – Filemu 28, Oloapu 18, Tutani 9, Keresoma 4, Hogben 2, Hiko 2, Walshe 2, Talosaga 0, Kiliva 0.
Quarterscores: 26-19, 49-34, 71-52, 94-65.
