With their eyes locked on a gold medal, the quartet of Jack Animam, Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, and Clare Castro pulled Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 Women’s an inch closer to a spot in the semifinals after defeating Indonesia, 16-13, Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
“Siyempre masaya kami na lahat ng games namin today napanalo namin, and ‘yung pagod namin, ‘yung sacrifices namin every day unti-unti siyang nagbubunga. Sana come tomorrow, sana matapos namin nang maganda ‘tong 3×3,” said Animam.
Up by only two points with 1:14 ticks left on the clock, Bernardino converted on a mid-range jumper to stretch the Philippines’ lead. Animam then dropped a well-executed hand-off pass to Pontejos for an easy lay-up, 16-11.
The product of National University then sank a freebie from to stretch the lead once more. The Malaysians managed to cut it to just three points, but a late miscommunication on their side sealed the win for the Philippines.
“Sa amin kasi ngayong araw… Panibagong araw na naman bukas so kailangan tuluy-tuloy pa rin ‘yung momentum namin, na kailangan manalo kami hanggang matapos ‘yung 3×3 at makuha ‘yung gold,” added Pontejos.
The Filipina cagers opened their SEA Games 3×3 campaign with a whopping 21-4 victory over Myanmar behind Claire Castro’s eight points.
Then, the women’s squad managed to eke out a tight 15-13 win against the Malaysians in their second game of the day.
Philippines will look to solidify their place in the Final Four against Vietnam on December 2, Tuesday at 8:20 A.M. They then go up against Thailand later in the day at 9:40 A.M. to round up the elimination phase.
