Gilas Pilipinas Women will fight for dear life after falling to New Zealand in their last group stage outing in the 2019 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, 57-75, Thursday afternoon in Bangalore, India.
Ending the round at 0-3, the Philippines will have to wait on the loser for the India-Chinese Taipei match later to see who they will face in the battle for seventh. The loser of the game on Friday will be relegated to Group B.
After a close first quarter, Tessa Boagni sparked a huge 11-2 spurt that turned a two-point edge into a 10-point lead, 39-29, in the closing minutes of the first half.
Gaining momentum, New Zealand continued to pound the Philippines in the paint in the second half. It gained a lead that went to as high as 20 points, 75-55, with 1:40 left after two Stella Back freebies.
Janine Pontejos paced the Philippines with 15 points built on three triples. Afril Bernardino added 12 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Gemma Miranda chipped in 10 markers.
New Zealand out-rebounded the Philippines, 55-34, leading to a 12-2 advantage in second chance points. Moreover, the Kiwis had 23 free throw attempts compared to just 13 for the Filipinas.
Boagni led New Zealand with 16 points, while Natalie Taylor added 14 markers.
The Scores:
Philippines 57 – Pontejos 15, Bernardino 10, Miranda 10, Hayes 9, Castillo 9, Animam 2, Cabinbin 0, Jose 0, Tongco 0, Chan 0, Tongco 0, Daez 0, Nabalan 0.
New Zealand 75 – Boagni 16, Taylor 14, Cocks 9, Leger-Walker 9, Karaitiana 9, Paalvast 7, Edmondson 5, Purcell 5, Beck 1, Davidson 0.
Quarterscores: 14-15, 39-32, 58-46, 75-57.
