Gilas Pilipinas Women could not get things going against a hot-shooting Chinese-Taipei team, suffering 52-93 defeat to fall to the relegation match of the 2021 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, Thursday morning (Manila time) at the Prince Hamza Hall in Amman, Jordan.
Finishing the group stage winless, the Philippines will now fight for its Division A life against Group A’s last place group India at 12MN later.
Against Chinese-Taipei though, Gilas Women coach Patrick Aquino admitted that his gameplan entering the match backfired on him.
“It was really a tough game. We had a gameplan on letting them shoot from the outside but they were successful from it,” said Aquino as Chinese-Taipei shot 42.3-percent from the field, including 15-of-41 from downtown.
Gilas kept within striking range entering the second half but a bevy of turnovers and defensive lapses led to a huge 31-point third canto from the Taiwanese.
The barrage continued in the final frame as Chinese-Taipei’s lead grew to as high as 43 points, 92-49, late in the game.
“Life goes on. The girls did their job, they played well but then again, we still lost the game. We have to improve on so much things,” Aquino continued.
Afril Bernardino was a bright spot for Gilas, finishing with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Clare Castro added 14 points and six rebounds.
All in all, Gilas committed 26 turnovers that led to 31 Chinese-Taipei points.
Lin Wenyu led Chinese-Taipei with 19 points built on five triples. Cheng Yihsiu and Liu Hsiyeh finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Scores:
Philippines 52 — Bernardino 24, Castro 14, Fajardo 5, Pontejos 4, Nabalan 3, Tongco 2, Cabinbin 0, Castillo 0, Clarin 0, Prado 0, Cayabyab 0.
Chinese-Taipei 93 — Lin WY 19, Cheng 14, Liu 13, Lin YT 8, Tai 8, Chu 7, Chen 7, Lin T 6, Peng 5, Han 4, Wang 2, Lin HF 0.
Quarterscores: 15-26, 30-45, 41-76, 52-93.
