Perlas open campaign in dominant fashion, romp Singapore by 34 points

The redemption tour of the only Division A team in the Southeast Asian Games started emphatically, as Perlas Pilipinas stomped Singapore, 88-54, Sunday evening at the MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Perlas, a team coming off the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in India, were led by two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player Afril Bernardino. The 26-year old shot an excellent 7-for-11 from the field off the bench to finish with 16 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds while forcing three turnovers.

University of the East product Janine Pontejos and Far Eastern University alumna Camille Sambile chipped in 13 and 10 markers respectively — both coming off the bench as well.

The game was already out of reach come the second frame, as Perlas limited the Singaporeans to just nine points in the quarter, giving the Philippines a 39-25 lead entering the second half.

An equally-inspired third frame gave Perlas a game-high 37-point lead, 63-36, after free throws from Cindy Resultay with two seconds left in the quarter.

Resultay added eight points, while former UAAP MVP Allana Lim finished with nine points and nine rebounds.

Shuwen Poon was the sole Singaporean to finish in double-digits with 10 points. Singapore was limited to just a 28 percent shooting clip.

Perlas looks to make it two in a row on Monday, August 21, when it faces 2015 silver medalist Indonesia.

The Scores:

Perlas Pilipinas 88 – Bernardino 16, Pontejos 13, Sambile 10, Lim 9, Resultay 8, Cabinbin 8, Almazan 6, Tongco 6, Dy 5, Animam 4, Castro 4, Abaca 0.

Singapore 54 – Poon 10, Chu 9, Lim J. 9, Tan 8, Yoshida 7, Loiter 4, Koh 3, Ang 2, Tang 2, Lim R. 0, See 0.

Quarterscores: 23-16, 39-25, 64-36, 88-54.