Gilas Women U16 clinched a seat in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship-Division B semifinals following a 106-58 obliteration of Jordan at the Prince Hamza Sport Hall in Amman, Thursday morning (Manila time).
A 30-point second-quarter barrage was all that the Filipina dribblers needed en route to clinching the top spot of Group A with a pristine 3-0 record.
They now wait for the no. 2 seed of Group B — composed of Iran, Malaysia, Singapore, and Guam — for their opponents in the knockout crossover semis on Saturday, where a chance to atone for last year’s heartbreak lies.
It could be remembered that the wards of Coach Pat Aquino also swept the group stage of last year’s U16 meet also in Amman and directly qualified to the do-or-die semis, only to suffer a blowout loss to Samoa.
The Samoans eventually won the second level to complete their unlikely run to the top, in the process earning the promotion to Division A.
But this present batch has seemingly kept that campaign in mind, hoping to finish what their predecessors fell short in accomplishing.
Shannon Sayson led the Philippines with 19 points, four rebounds, six assists, and seven of the team’s 28 steals in the contest.
Ava Fajardo, a member of the previous U16 team that only finished third, produced 17 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
Nevaeh Smith supplied 15 points, Ryan Nair scored 11 and had seven assists, while Scarlett Mercado and Demicah Arnaldo added 10 each.
Mercado, Sophia Canindo, and Smith connected on a triple each for a 9-0 run that gave their side a 44-25 lead midway into the second period, marking the start of the one-sided affair that ended in a 48-point rout.
The Philippines sank a total of 14 three-pointers in the victory that also saw the squad dish out 27 assists against only nine turnovers.
Zena Alkarain, on the other hand, carried the fight for the hosts with 26 points and seven rebounds in the loss, which dropped Jordan’s card to 1-2.
The Scores:
Philippines 106 – Sayson 19, Fajardo 17, Smith 15, Nair 11, Mercado 10, Arnaldo 10, Lapasaran 6, De La O 6, De Jesus 5, Palma 4, Canindo 3, Navarro 0.
Jordan 58 – Alkarain Z. 26, Alkarain H. 10, Shamieh 7, Kayyal 4, Najjar 4, Rabadi 3, Haddad 2, Sammar 1, Bouri 1, Layyous 0, Makhamreh 0.
Quarterscores: 26-19, 56-33, 79-49, 106-58.
