The Philippines once again proved its superiority in Southeast Asian basketball.
Gilas Pilipinas Girls completed a three-game sweep of the FIBA Women’s Under-18 Asia Cup Division B 2024 SEABA Qualifiers with a dominant 73-37 victory over Indonesia on Sunday at the Ratchaburi Gymnasium.
Coached by Julie Amos, the young Filipinas will now head to Shenzhen, China, for the continental meet next month, brimming with confidence.
It was a dominant three-day run for Gilas, defeating Thailand last Friday, 103-58, before exacting revenge on tormentor Malaysia, 100-68, on Saturday.
Already assured of a slot in the second division tournament, Amos decided to switch things up, starting captain Ava Fajardo, Aubrey Lapasaran, Ashlyn Abong, and Alicia Villanueva for the contest.
Despite a slow start—leading 14-11 to end the opening stanza—Gilas revved up in the second quarter, firing on all cylinders to gain a 37-22 lead and never looked back.
It was all Gilas from there as every player, except Vinice Qiunte, scored at will, helping build a lead that went as high as 43 points, leaving Indonesia with its sole loss in the tournament.
Alicia Villanueva, a stalwart from the National University Nazareth School program, was the sole double-digit scorer for Gilas with 13 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action.
Tiffany Reyes, dubbed as the future of women’s basketball in the country but still the youngest in the team at 14 years old, contributed nine points, while Lapasaran and Ramos added eight points apiece.
Fajardo, Abong, and Margarette Duenas also chipped in seven points each.
Sabrina Poedjakesuma was the only Indonesian who scored in double digits with 10 points.
The Scores:
Philippines 73 – Villanueva 13, Reyes 9, Ramos 8, Lapasaran 8, Fajardo 7, Abong 7, Duenas 7, Panganiban 6, Canindo 4, Rodriguez 2, Impreso 2, Quinte 0.
Indonesia 37 – Poedjakesuma 10, Giovanni 9, Setiawan 7, Triutari 3, Koesnadi 2, Putri 2, Krisabella 2, Sasongko 1, Hadinoto 1, Utomo 0, Mahanani 0, Colin 0.
Quarterscores: 14-11, 37-22, 53-26, 73-37
