Less than 12 hours after their victory over Thailand, having little rest took its toll on Perlas Pilipinas, as its gallant fightback fell short versus host Malaysia, 60-56, Thursday afternoon at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Pinays have now dropped to 3-2, bidding their gold medal hopes goodbye. The Malaysians, meanwhile, remain unscathed in four games.
Allana Lim led Perlas with 17 points and six rebounds. Analyn Almazan supplied 11 markers and five boards.
Down 12, 50-38, with 9:25 into the deciding frame, the Filipinas waxed hot on offense and unloaded a 16-4 scoring spree — capped by an Ara Abaca’s three-pointer — to send the match to a 54-all deadlock with 2:45 remaining.
But the breaks of the game veered away from them later on. Malaysia split their free throws, and Perlas missed two shots that were then followed by a traveling violation called on Afril Bernardino with 1:09 on the clock.
The Malaysians capitalized on the Philippines’ miscues, nailing buckets to erect a 58-54 lead with 16 ticks left. Lim nailed a lay-up four seconds later, but Saw Wei Yin’s perfect foul shots with nine seconds left sealed the win.
Yin Yin Chong paced the hosts with 12 points and eight rebounds. Fook Yee Yap backed her up with 10 points, two caroms, and three assists.
The Filipinas shot just 38 percent from the field, and committed 20 turnovers. Moreover, they were called for 20 fouls, which led to 20 free throws for the Malaysians. Perlas only shot 5-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Perlas will look to end their run on a high note against Vietnam tomorrow, Friday, August 25, at 10:15 in the morning.
The Scores:
Perlas Pilipinas 56 – Lim 17, Almazan 11, Abaca 7, Bernardino 7, Cabinbin 7, Dy 6, Resultay 1, Animam 0, Castro 0, Pontejos 0, Sambile 0, Tongco 0.
Malaysia 60 – Chong 12, Yap 10, Pang 9, Low 8, Rajintiran 8, Ting 8, Saw 4, Yaakob 1.
Quarterscores: 12-13, 23-34, 38-47, 56-60.
