Gilas Pilipinas Girls’ plan to extend its historic run in the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup got crushed after bowing to China, 112-49, in the Qualification to Semi-Finals on Thursday night at the Karisma Arena in Seremban, Malaysia.
The Filipina dribblers came in a confident bunch after downing New Zealand last Tuesday for their first win since being promoted to Division A, but got dealt a harsh reality check courtesy of the competition’s only 16-time champions.
(C) FIBA
The charges of Coach Sandy Arespacochaga fell right from the get-go when the Chinese raced to a 10-0 start, and it wouldn’t take long for the latter to make it a lopsided show in their favor en route to completing the ‘Final Four’ picture.
Team China will be facing the spotless Australia in the Semi-Finals in an early rematch of the last two Finals, the most recent in 2024 which saw the Gems beat Zhang Ziyu & Co., 96-79, to complete a back-to-back feat.
The Philippines, on the other hand, will play in the Classification 5-6 game versus Chinese Taipei in a bout so crucial, as the winner will book a trip to the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2027 to be held in China.
The top four teams from the U18 Women’s Asia Cup usually qualify but technically, five teams are headed for next year’s contest as China is already seeded being the host, with the event to be played in the city of Chengdu.
Grace Curley was the only player in double figures for Gilas Girls with 17 points and five rebounds as the team struggled all night long, making just three of their shots from deep. They also committed a total of 31 turnovers.
(C) FIBA
China, meanwhile, deployed a balanced attack, led by Li Yuanshan with 21 points, including six in their aforementioned start into the bout.
Sun Hanyun produced 19 points and 5 rebounds. Hu Ruiyan supplied 16 points and 6 assists. Yao Zixuan tallied a 14-7-5 stat line, while Pang Yunshu added 11 points and 5 rebounds for a team that finished with 30 assists.
So dominant were the unit of Coach Nan Chen that they scored 24 unanswered points abridging the last two quarters for an 87-39 lead a minute into the fourth.
